Portal: Arrival
by Esperwen
Summary: -the first Portal fanfic- The two high school girls had only meant to skip a day of school, but while walking through Chinatown, they made a wrong turn. Suddenly, somehow, they've ended up in Konoha. -over 12,000 hits!-
1. Day One: Arrival

This is written in collaboration with Nuke.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto(sobs), or the TTC, or Toronto, for that matter, or any of the school subjects mentioned, or...Ok, I don't own anything.waah:"( I only own Michelle, and I have rights to Denise and Phil. Oh, and I don't own Chinatown, etc., either.

* * *

"You sure you wanna stay here?"

Michelle looked at her friend, Denise. They were at their lockers, waiting for school to start. It was a grey, autumn Monday; the type of day no-one wants to do anything productive in.

Meet Michelle: a fairly pretty girl, with perfectly generic Philippino features (flat nose, brown skin, black eyes, lower lip sticks out a little, and long straight black hair). She was a grade 11 student in high school, her favourite and best subjects were Math and Science, and she hated waking up.

"Almost all of our classes are just doing presentations today," Denise said thoughtfully, "And most of our friends are on that Ancient Civilizations trip to the museum today."

Denise was a grade 9 in Michelle's school, and one of her best friends. With shoulder-length brown hair and green eyes, the girl's best subject was Gym, and that was because all the 'work' in that course was done, not written.

"Whoa, Michelle, you're gonna skip?"

Both girls turned and saw their friend, Phil, at his locker.

The tall boy was the same age as Michelle. At 6' tall and with greasy shoulder-length brown hair, he could seem menacing at times. But he was too apathetic to attack people. Right now, he was smiling smugly as he spoke.

"I mean, _I_ would skip today, but I'm a good student now," he said.

"Yeah, right," Michelle rolled her eyes, "Who skipped that English test two weeks ago?"

The 16-year-old looked first to Denise, then looked around the rest of the hallway, then put on a mock-surprised face as she saw Phil.

"Why, it was you!" she exclaimed, pointing at the boy.

"Shut up," Phil said, swatting at Michelle, but he wasgrinning.

"Yeah, whatever," Denise caught Michelle's attention again, "Do you wanna go? I need to buy some new manga anyway."

"Yaoi," Michelle muttered, but grinned.

"Hey, it's not evil!" Denise laughed.

"Ok, Michelle, it's either read dirty comic books with Denise, or stay and be a model student with me," Phil said.

Michelle took one look at her friend, then said, "Yeah, I'm totally leaving now."

"Hey!" Phil poked her hard in the stomach.

"Ow! Don't make me start," Michelle said warningly.

The school bell rang.

"Well, I'm off to Business."

The grade 11 boy gave them a wave and soon disappeared into the crowd that was filling up the hallway. Denise poked Michelle's shoulder.

"So, you seriously coming?" she asked.

Michelle thought for a moment.

_First time ever to skip school, _she thought, _But she's right; I'm not going to be learning anything today._

Denise was two years younger than Michelle, but she also was the leader. Both were quite alike in many ways, except Denise was Romanian, and Michelle was Philipino, and Denise was a little more on the rebellious side, while Michelle was the one that stuck with the rules. On the outside, anyway.

"Meh. Ok, let's go now so that we're not the only ones wearing coats in the hallway," Michelle said.

Both grabbed their coats and backpacks and speedwalked out of the school.

One TTC ride later

"Dude, you owe me a bus ticket," Michelle said grumpily.

They were now on the sidewalk at Chinatown, a good, safe distance from the school. More like the opposite side of the city.

"If we find a teacher here..." Denise thought out loud.

"They can't do anything to us, since they were skipping too," laughed Michelle.

"Unless they didn't have work today," nodded Denise thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but in Chinatown?" Michelle shook her head, "I doubt it. Hey, do you smell that?"

Both sniffed the air, and noticed the smell of sweet bread.

"Hey, you have money, right?" Michelle asked.

Denise rolled her eyes.

"No, I skipped to buy Yaoi with no money."

"...Neither of us have had breakfast..."

Both turned and looked across the street to where the smell was coming from: a dessert shop. Michelle looked at Denise. Denise looked at Michelle. Simultaneously they nodded and jaywalked straight to the food. Upon entering the store, the smell intensified.

"Oh, I'm hungry now," Michelle said, grabbing a tray and pair of tongs, "I'll carry the food, you choose it."

"Hm," Denise looked at the many displays of specially made buns, "Ok, I'll take a hot-dog bun, and one of those croissants."

"Then I'll have that chicken one...mm, chicken...and this almond one."

Michelle selected the foods and carried them to the cashier.

"OK, that's $7.50," said the cashier.

_How can these people smile like that all day? _thought Denise.

_She's so cheery it's scary, _thought Michelle.

"Will that be for here or to go?" asked the (way too happy) cashier.

"For he-" began Michelle.

"To go," jumped in Denise.

Denise gave Michelle a look that said not to argue, and Michelle nodded. Their breakfast was paid for and Michelle took the bag.

"What was that?" asked Michelle.

Denise motioned with her eyes to look behind her, and Michelle leaned to the side slightly to see around her friend's head. She blinked, and looked at Denise again.

"That's our French teacher," she whispered.

"What is she doing here!" Denise hissed.

"How am I supposed to know?" Michelle glanced at the woman by the window then quickly grabbed Denise's elbow and walked towards the door.

"She'll see us! Hurry up!" Michelle urged.

Both left the store and hurried down the street, turning a corner into an alleyway.

"Ok, why was she there?" whispered Denise.

"She may not have classes to teach until this afternoon," whispered Michelle, leaning on a brick wall, "Why are we whispering?"

"Yeah, why _are_ we whispering?" said Denise in a normal voice.

The girls nervously laughed, then looked around the alleyway they were in.

"I've never been here," said Denise.

"Hey, there's some kind of tree growing at the end of it," Michelle said, pointing.

The friends walked towards the tall tree. It seemed to have it's own personal greenhouse, with a tiny steam flowing around its base.

"Hey, how does that work?" Denise looked at the stream, "It's flowing in a circle."

"That's cool," Michelle said, "A little weird, but cool. Wish I could have one at my house."

"Whatever."

Michelle glanced at her watch.

"Hey, it's only 11 o'clock. You wanna come back here later after we've bought stuff?" she asked her younger friend.

"Well...let's see if there's anything else here, then we'll go," Denise said.

There wasn't much to see. The greenhouse was as large as a standard classroom, with the tree in the very centre.

"Did someone just build this thing for the tree?" asked Michelle.

"Heh, lucky tree," chuckled Denise.

She looked at the tree itself, and blinked.

"Hey, have you ever been here before?" asked Denise.

"No, why?"

Michelle looked at the tree and blinked.

"Dude, your name's there," the elder girl said.

"Yeah, well, dude. So's yours," answered Denise.

"...We're the only ones," Michelle said, "Ok, that's _creepy_."

"Creepy, but cool," said Denise.

Both girls walked up to the tree, and for lack of a better thing to do, stared at it some more. A few minutes passed. Michelle traced her fingers on where her name was, and Denise did the same.

"...Ok, Denise, we have to leave."

"Yeah..."

Denise shouldered her backpack and led the way to the greenhouse door.

"Can we eat these before we check out the stores?" Michelle asked, motioning to the bag she still held.

"OK, sh...!"

Denise was opening the door, and had begun to say "Sure", but then ended up finishing the word with "it". Michelle's jaw dropped when she stepped out of the greenhouse with Denise.

"Um...Chinatown doesn't look like this," Michelle said, "Well, it's kinda does...but this isn't Chinese architecture! This is Japanese!"

"Japantown?" suggested Denise.

"...no," Michelle said, and Denise hung her head.

"Aw. Why _is_ there no Japantown? There's a Korea town, and a little Italy, but no Japantown."

Michelle nodded thoughtfully, then shook her head.

"Ok, focus, Denise. Where are we?"

"Japantown!"

"No..." Michelle growled, not unkindly.

Both girls walked down the street. Michelle glanced backwards, and wasn't entirely surprised that the greenhouse had been replaced by...

"Hey, Denise..."

The girl in question turned, and looked at the building.

"Is that...?" Michelle began, and Denise nodded.

"The Hokage's building," Denise thought for a second, "So it's Narutotown."

"Oh please."

Michelle grinned, looking down, then the smile vanished.

"Um, um...Denise? What happened to my clothes?" Michelle looked at Denise, "And yours!"

Denise looked at Michelle and herself.

"Whoa! Japanese-style clothing! It's Ninjatown now!"

It was true; Michiko had a sky-blue dress that slightly resembled Sakura's, only with sleeves that came down to her elbows. Deniizu was dressed up a lot like Tenten, with the same style shirt only green, and the same style pants, only dark green. Her hair was still in its generic ponytail at the back, though.

"It's Konoha!" Michelle exclaimed, smacking the back of Denise's head.

She looked at the streets, and saw that a few passers-by were staring at her and her friend.

"Um...hey!"

She pasted on a big grin and waved. The villagers merely shook their heads and walked on. Michelle sighed, and Denise stopped rubbing her head.

"Ow...hey, you realize something, Michelle?"

"What?"

"We need passports if we're visiting a hidden village."

Michelle nodded, suddenly worried.

"That could be a problem."

"Are you having a problem, ladies?"

Both turned around quickly and saw a tall ninja with white hair standing behind them.

"Denise, it...it's..."

"Oh (insert word that starts like 'sure' but ends in 'it', here)!"

Both girls stood stunned for a minute, then suddenly collapsed.

"...oh dear," said Kakashi, looking down at the two girls, that he had somehow managed to catch, "They fainted."

* * *

AN: Yo. Be prepared for an utterly long and rambling story. But you will love the OC, and maybe even the OOC. 


	2. Day One and Two: To get into the Academy

Michelle woke up slowly.

"That was kind of a cool dream," she muttered out loud, her eyes still closed, "So that's what happens when you skip school."

"Young kids like you shouldn't skip school," came a slightly familiar voice to her left.

Michelle sat bolt upright and looked at the speaker.

"It's...it's..."

"Ok, I saw that look, and heard those words before; don't faint again," said Kakashi.

_Wow..._ thought Michelle, _This is so cool...hey, where's Denise?_

"My name is Hatake Kakashi, and-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Where's my friend?" demanded Michelle, "And while you're at it, where am I?"

"You're in the Hokage's home," the man said patiently.

"Your friend, Deniizu, came to hours ago," said a kind voice behind Michelle.

Michelle turned, and of course it was the Hokage.

"Sorry to intrude, Hokage-sama," Michelle said quietly.

_OH MY GOSH IT'S THE HOKAGE! I'M IN THE WORLD OF NARUTO!...and that means..._

"Do not worry, Michiko, it's only your first day here," the Third Hokage smiled.

"How long have I been out?" asked Michelle, glancing backwards to see that Kakashi had left silently.

_With the new dimension and clothes comes a new name. Michiko? It sounds kind of like my name..._

"Just a couple hours," he answered, "It's still early afternoon; you haven't lost too much time."

"Michiko!"

Michelle didn't move for a split second, then remembered that her name had changed. She turned around and saw Denise was in the room.

"Hey...Deniizu!" Michiko gave her a grin.

"Hokage-sama already saw our passports," Deniizu said, pointedly removing hers from her pocket and showing it to her friend, "So we're ok. We can go to that apartment we bought now."

"Ok, great," Michiko made her grin bigger.

"Ok, so let's go, cuz," Deniizu grabbed Michiko's arm and half dragged her out of the room

_Cousins? Do we have family here? ...Are we related suddenly?_ Michelle thought..

"Um, bye, Hokage-sama! Kakashi-sama!" Michiko called over her shoulder.

Once they were back outside, Michelle yanked her elbow out of Denise's grasp.

"So we're cousins now," Michelle growled.

"No, I just like pretending we're related. You know, like we've known each other so long, so it's like we're the same blood or something. And we're staying here to go to ninja school. We're both foundlings from the Tea Villiage," added Denise, "Check your passport."

Michelle pulled out a booklet from her pocket, surprised that it was actually there. Right on the passport, there it was: Her name (just Michiko), her picture (they always look so bad), her age (suddenly she was 12), her hometown (the Tea Village), and that she was applying for citizenship in Konoha.

Denise pulled out her own passport, and showed it to Michelle. It was similar to Michelle's: her name (Deniizu), her picture ("My nose looks so big..."), her age ("Haha, we're the same age now!"), her hometown (same as Michelle's), and that she was applying for citizenship too.

"So, Deniizu," Michelle started.

"Hey, Michiko," Denise said, "Did you notice that giant zit on your forehead in your passport photo?"

SMACK!

"Hey, you hit me!" Denise complained, rubbing the back of her head.

"Let's just go find our new apartment," Michiko said, then stopped, "How'd we get an apartment?"

"If you don't mind, I'll show you the way," said an increasingly familiar man's voice from behind them.

"How do you keep sneaking up like that, Hatake?" Deniizu demanded.

"I was once an Anbu," Kakashi grinned as he held their backpacks, "But please, just call me Kakashi."

"While you were out, I got the Hokage to give us a place to stay," explained Deniizu, "So we still need a guide."

"If you could show us our new place, that'd be great," Michiko smiled.

"Follow me."

The man walked ahead, and Deniizu and Michiko fell in step right beside him.

"Here, I'll take by backpack," Michiko said, reaching up for it.

"It's no problem," Kakashi said, keeping the bag out of her reach,"But it's a bit late to start ninja school, don't you think?"

"Well, the villagers liked their token orphans," Deniizu explained, "It wasn't until we found out about ninja school that they let us go."

"I see," said Kakashi, "Well, I hope you can keep up with your studies."

"Oh, we're fast learners," Michiko said.

_And we read all the manga, so we know the stuff already,_ she thought.

"I only hope you're fast enough," said Kakashi, "There's only one month left of school until graduation. And kids at your age usually graduate this year."

Deniizu and Michiko sweat dropped.

_We read the manga, we're ok,_ thought Deniizu.

_This is what really happens when you skip school,_ thought Michiko. (A/N: Don't skip school. Skipping is bad.)

"Well, nice meeting you. There's a young boy that lives next door. You should meet him; he's about your age, and an orphan too," Kakashi said as he put down their stuff, waved, then walked away.

"Bet you fifty bucks the guy next door is Naruto," said Michiko.

"I was just thinking that," said Deniizu.

The girls walked into the apartment together. It was just an empty room, with a small closet in the right wall, a window opposite the door, a door beside the window to their balcony, and a door to the bathroom on the left. Beside the door to the outside was a small kitchen with a wood stove, an oven, and an empty cupboard.

"Well, it's a place," said Michiko optimistically.

"We seem to have mats attached to our backpacks already," said Deniizu, already going through her stuff, "Those people in the Tea Village were nice."

"They were. Remember your eighth birthday?" asked Michiko.

"Oh yeah...hey wait," Deniizu frowned, "We never met them."

"...So where are these memories suddenly coming from?" asked Michiko.

"...Parallel dimension. Let's not question it," said Deniizu, "Only...it's weird. I'm Denise in one world, and Deniizu in this one."

"Speaking of worlds, how do we get back?" asked Michiko.

"Why would you want to go back?" asked Deniizu.

"We've still got friends back there," Michelle said thoughtfully.

"Let's not worry yet," said Deniizu, kicking her rolled up mat on the floor so that it opened, "Let's get unpacked and check out the town first."

"Fine, fine," said Michiko, "How about we go to Iruka first, to sign up? We can ask Naruto to help us out."

"That's an idea," said Deniizu, "But we have to practice ninjutsu as soon as possible. We should ask another kid that hasn't graduated yet."

"But we know what the exam is on already, remember?" Michiko said, remembering volume one, "Make three doppelgangers of yourself."

"Yeah, but it's not like we know how," Deniizu pointed out.

"Oh yeah...We also have to fake not knowing anything."

"Right. If we just randomly knew everyone's deepest, darkest secrets...yeah. Like that's not suspicious."

The girls quickly unrolled their mats, then grabbed the paper bag they still had from that morning, to eat on the go. Stepping outside, Deniizu knocked on their neighbour's door, while Michiko ate her chicken bun. The door opened after a few knocks, and indeed, it was a boy with an orange jacket and pants.

"Um...hi," said Deniizu, "We just moved next door. My name's Deniizu."

"Ne...konnichiwa," said the boy, "My name's Uzumaki Naruto."

_Big surprise_, thought Michiko, still chewing on her bun.

"Hey," she waved, "My name's Michiko. You want one?" she offered the contents of the bag to Naruto, "We're going to find our teacher so we can sign up for ninja school."

"Wait!"

Deniizu grabbed the bag and took her hotdog bun before letting Naruto pick one.

"Do you know who we have to go to?" asked Deniizu.

"Yeah, that's Iruka-sensei," Naruto said around a mouthful of almond bun, "I'll take you to him if you want."

"We'd appreciate that," said Deniizu.

_He ate my almond bun_, thought Michiko sadly.

Soon, at the Academy...

"I don't know...this is very unorthodox."

Iruka rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Naruto and the two girls put on their best begging faces. They were all in Iruka's classroom in the ninja academy, where they had found Naruto's teacher.

"Come on, Iruka-sensei, give them a chance!" Naruto said.

"Our village went through so much trouble to send us here!" Michiko added.

"Just give us a few basic scrolls, and a tutor, and we'll be fine!" Deniizu ended.

Iruka thought for a little longer.

"Ok, how about this," Iruka said, pointing a finger in the air, "I will show you the most basic ninja technique, the 'Art of Substitution', and if either of you can get it right in three tries, I will consider you to have enough talent to join ninja school."

"Yes!" Deniizu exclaimed, sharing a high-five with Michiko.

"But if you don't..."

Iruka waited until the girls looked at him again before continuing.

"If you don't, then you may not come into the school. Whether you stay in Konoha with the other person if she succeeds, I don't care. You may come back at the beginning of the next school year; I don't mind, but I won't let you join this year."

Michiko nodded, and Deniizu crossed her arms determinedly.

"You have yourself a deal, Iruka-sama," Deniizu said.

"Good. Now these are the hand seals you must make," Iruka said, demonstrating for them, and their mini-lesson began.

It started out as well as could be expected. Both Michiko and Deniizu had taken music lessons back home, so she was already quite deft with switching between hand seals. They also easily memorized their names, and what they stood for. But then there was the question of chakra. As Iruka left the room to get logs to act as their 'substitutes', Naruto congratulated them for their chance.

"This is great, ne?" the fox-demon boy grinned, "You two are learning so fast. Much faster than I did!"

"Thanks," Michiko grinned, "I just hope it's enough."

"You two will be great!" Naruto exclaimed, giving them two thumbs-up, "Even Sakura-chan didn't learn that fast, and she's the top girl in our class."

"Don't say 'our' yet," Deniizu said, "You'll jinx it."

"Right, right," Naruto nodded solemnly, "Forget I said that."

Michiko grinned, and Deniizu managed a half-smile, but they both faded when the two friends caught each other's eyes. They were both thinking the same thing.

_Do we have chakra in this world?_

"Ok, now the test really begins, ladies," Iruka said, walking in carrying two large logs.

He handed one to each of the girls.

"Who wants to go first? The light brown-haired one, or the brunette?" Iruka asked, trying to keep the mood light as he place the logs on either side of him. But he and Naruto both felt it. The two friends were freaked beyond anything.

"Konnichiwa!" came a voice at the classroom window.

"Hey, who're you?" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at the white-haired man.

_Oh yeah...they haven't met yet,_ Deniizu thought.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi," he said, giving them a friendly wave, "I was just wondering how the two newcomers were doing."

"Hi!" Michiko forced a smile on, waving to the jounin, "We were just going to have a test."

"If we pass, we get to join ninja school," explained Deniizu.

"Ah, I see. Do any of you mind if I watch?"

Iruka merely shrugged and Kakashi sat on one of the desks.

"Just pretend I'm not here," he said, pulling out a book.

"Hey, what is that?" Naruto asked, trying to peer over Kakashi's shoulder.

"Nothing of interest to you," Kakashi replied, pushing Naruto away without even looking at him.

"Well? Who wants to start?" Iruka asked.

"...I will," Deniizu said after a pause, glancing at Michiko and stepping forward.

_Do your best, Denise_, Michelle thought. She felt a little bit queasy herself.

Denise took a deep breath, and quickly performed the seals. Kakashi blinked.

_She certainly looks like she knows what she's doing,_ the copy-ninja thought.

A puff of smoke appeared, and when it settled, the rest of the room saw that the girl and the log had switched places; she was now beside her teacher. Denise breathed a sigh of relief.

"Easy," she said to Michelle, giving her an uneasy grin.

"Your turn, Michiko," Iruka said, nodding to her.

Michelle took a deep breath, feeling her stomach knotting up.

_Ok...here goes nothing. Or everything,_ Michelle thought.

She performed the seals, very slowly. Too slowly.

_I am _so_ not ready,_ the girl thought.

There was no puff of smoke.

"Come on, Michiko, you can do it!" Naruto encouraged, a little too loudly.

_There's too many unfamiliar people_, Denise realized,_ She's scared to fail in front of everyone...which is why she's doing it now._

Michiko balled up her fists for a moment, then performed the seals again, a touch slower than Denise had. There was a puff of smoke, and all four spectators held their breaths. It cleared and...

_Oh my gosh! I'm going to die right here _Michelle thought.

She had substituted with the wrong log. Denise had been standing a little bit in front of her and to Michelle's side when she had substituted, so that's where her log had ended up. Michelle turned and saw that she had switched places with the log that was just a pace away from her, instead of the one by Iruka; she looked like she was going to be sick.

_Uh-oh_ Kakashi thought.

"You have one more chance, Michiko," Iruka said softly.

Michiko glared at the log she was supposed to go to, then shut her eyes tight.

_I'm doing this if it kills me! I _have_ to get into the academy,_ she thought.

Eyes still shut, Michiko created the seals in a blur, and then there was a pufff of smoke...

"Hey, you can open your eyes now," Denise said, and Michelle knew her voice well enough to know she was smiling.

"Did I...?"

Michiko opened one eye, then the other, and realized where she was.

"You did," Iruka said, giving her a smile, "Welcome to the academy."

Michiko stared at him, stunned, then smiled wide.

"Arigato, Iruka-sensei," she said.

"I knew you could do it!" Naruto yelled, punching the air with a fist.

_This guy is so energetic...I pity the guy he gets for his team leader_, Kakashi thought.

"Well done," Kakashi said out loud, "Looks like you're doing well for your first day in Konoha."

"I guess so," Deniizu said, then to Michiko, "We can be ninjas!"

Michiko laughed, and hugged her friend.

"Yes we can! Yay, haha!"

Iruka watched them silently, a small smile on his face.

_Now who to assign for their tutors?_ he thought.

And then they went home, and stuff, and then it was Day #2...

Morning light streamed into the two girls' window. Michelle sat by it, at the edge of her mat, remembering the day before.

_Check _me_ out, I'm in ninja school_, she thought happily to herself, stifling a yawn.

"Hey, Denise! Denise!"

The brown girl nudged her friend's shoulder with her foot.

"Get up! Our first day at the academy, remember?" Michelle said in a low voice.

"I'M UP! I'M UP!" Denise exclaimed, bouncing to her feet suddenly.

"Whoa..." Michelle put her hands up before her, shielding her head, "Easy there."

"Ninja school! C'mon, let's go to the academy early!" Denise urged, speed-changing into her outside clothes, "C'mon, c'mon!"

"I've never seen you so excited," Michelle laughed, and got up. She was already changed.

"Think we should check on Naruto?"

"Um...I don't know...Knock on his door, see if he's up," Denise answered, walking into the kitchen.

Michelle nodded, and walked to the door.

"We still have some bread that we bought yesterday," Michelle said as she opened the door, and saw Naruto, posed as if about to knock.

"Ohayo, Naruto!" Michiko grinned, "I was about to check if you were awake."

"Ohayo, Michiko!" Naruto grinned back, "Would you and Deniizu like to walk with me to school?"

"Sure! Wait up!" Deniizu called from the kitchen.

"She just got up," Michiko explained.

"No problem," said Naruto.

"Oh, do you know what we should bring to the school?" Michiko asked.

"Just bring some money," Naruto said, "You'll get your scrolls and everything from Iruka-sensei, since it's your first day."

"We don't need pencils or anything?" Michiko asked.

"No. You get everything from the teacher," Naruto said.

"Ok, let's go!" Deniizu said, running out of the apartment with a slice of bread in each hand.

"Ne, Michiko," Naruto said, as they walked to the school.

"Nani?"

"How will you catch up with all the work?" Naruto asked, "You missed a lot of stuff."

"We'll be at the bottom of the class, but we should be ok," said Michiko, "We'll work hard and do well on the exam at the end of the year."

"That's a good attitude," Naruto said, smiling, "You'll have to work very hard to catch up to me. I'm the best in my class," he boasted.

"Since when?" came a boy's voice from behind them.

The three turned and saw a boy about Naruto's age, wearing a big, hooded coat and with a dog running behind him.

"_You're _the best in the class?" laughed the boy, "More like the _worst_!"

"Who's right?" asked Deniizu, thinking, _No duh, Naruto's at the bottom._

"He's right," said Naruto, shamefacedly, "But...Kiba's the second from the bottom!"

"No, that's Shikamaru," corrected Kiba.

"Ok, third from the bottom," said Naruto.

"Ne...Ohayo! Who're you?" Kiba asked, finally noticing Michiko and Deniizu.

"My name's Michiko," said the shorter girl.

"Yo. I'm Deniizu," said the taller girl, finishing her bread.

"My name's Inuzuka Kiba, and this is Akamaru," he greeted, picking up the puppy.

"Ruff!" said Akamaru.

Michiko gasped.

"He's so cute! Can I pet him?" she said.

_Akamaru's so much cuter in real life,_ she thought.

"Sure. Go ahead," Kiba said, holding Akamaru out.

"Hey there, little guy," Michiko said softly, scratching the puppy behind the ears.

"Huh. It's just a dumb dog," muttered Naruto.

"Michiko loves dogs," Deniizu explained, "She took care of the strays back in the Tea Village."

_Where did _that_ come from?_ the girls thought. But it was true, somehow.

"That's cool," said Kiba cheerily, "My clan is made up of dog-users. Akamaru says you smell nice, by the way."

"Um...thanks?" Michiko said, a little confused, then laughed. Kiba grinned, and put the dog down.

"Shouldn't we be going to school?" asked Deniizu.

"Right! Let's go!" said Naruto, leading the way.

"Oh, and about school," said Deniizu as they walked, "You guys won't be on the bottom anymore. Michiko and I have just joined, so we're at the bottom now."

"It's going to be hard for you to catch up," said Kiba, and Akamaru barked in agreement, "But so long as you pass the exam next month, you'll be ok."

Michiko nodded, and Deniizu shrugged.

"Oh well. We'll be ok. Iruka-sensei says that he'll give Michiko and I tutors."

"You'll probably be assigned Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, or Shino," guessed Kiba.

"Who're they?" asked Michiko. As if she didn't know.

"Sit near me in class and I'll point them out to you," offered Kiba.

"That works," said Deniizu.

"Here we are!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing his arms wide to display the entrance to the ninja school.

"Here we are," agreed Deniizu, and Michiko gave her friend a hug.

"Good luck," Michiko said.

"You too, kid," said Deniizu.

Side by side, the two friends followed Naruto and Kiba into Konoha's ninja academy.

* * *

A/N: I need reviews! Someone tell me what I'm doing wrong/what I can improve! ...And someone else can tell me how good I am. :P


	3. Day Two: Michiko's tutor hates her

A/N: Sorry, I forgot this last time:

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any of the characters affiliated, ramen, or sunsets.

* * *

The four students walked into Iruka's classroom. It was still close to empty except for one person; the four were very early. Akamaru ran ahead to what obviously was Kiba's seat. Michiko sat beside him, Naruto sat behind him, and Deniizu sat beside Naruto.

"Ohayo, Hinata," Kiba said to the girl sitting in front of him, "Michiko, Deniizu, this is Hyuuga Hinata."

"Um...Ohayo..." the girl with white eyes turned around shyly.

"Ohayo, I'm Deniizu," said the girl with green eyes.

"Hey, I'm Michiko," said the girl with brown eyes.

"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" said the boy with blue eyes in a loud voice, "Future Hok-ouch!"

"We know, baka," Deniizu said not unkindly, after cuffing him at the back of the head.

Kiba rolled his eyes and Michiko and Hinata shared a small grin.

"O-ohayo, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, blushing.

There was a commotion at the door, and then:

"Hah! I won, Ino-pig!"

"You did not! I got here first, Giant Forehead!"

"What did you say!"

"GIANT FOREHEAD!"

"Oh no..." Hinata winced and Akamaru growled.

"Those two...they're rivals for life," said Kiba in a confidential voice, "The girl with pink hair is Haruno Sakura. I mentioned her before; half the time she's top girl of the class."

"And the other half..." Deniizu pointed to the blonde.

"Yup," Kiba nodded, "Yamanaka Ino's at the top the other half of the time. I don't know why they hate each other so much. They used to be good friends."

"Maybe they hurt each other once..." Deniizu thought out loud, in a soft voice.

Naruto stared at her.

"What're _you_ looking at?" Deniizu asked in a rather scary, low voice.

"Uh, nothing," Naruto said, hiding under the desk.

"Is she always like that?" asked Kiba to Michiko.

"Um...no. No, not always," said Michiko, busying herself with petting Akamaru.

"Sakura-chan's a total babe though, huh?" Naruto said dreamily.

At that moment, Sakura stopped glaring at Ino to look up at Naruto.

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT, NARUTO!" she screamed, lightning shooting out of her eyes.

"N-nothing!" Naruto gulped, and hid under the desk again, thinking, _Why me...?_

_This is so cool..._thought Michiko.

_This is like being in the manga. I love this!_ Deniizu thought.

"Hey, Ino, move over. You're blocking the door," a bored voice said at the door.

_Is that really?_ thought Deniizu.

_Is it the character that I am in real life?_ Michiko thought. It was.

"Why can't you just walk around, Shikamaru?" asked Ino, annoyed.

"Then I'll have to walk more; it's troublesome," answered the cloud-gazer.

"Just move over, Ino," said another voice.

"Those two..." Kiba said out loud, grinning.

Ino unblocked the doorway, grumbling, to reveal two best friends.

"Ok, the guy with black hair," pointed Kiba, "That's the laziest guy in our class, Nara Shikamaru. He's the only guy Ino won't hit; wonder why?" Kiba and Akamaru shared a grin, "And the big guy behind him? That's Akimichi Chouji; he always eats. They've been best friends for years now."

Deniizu suddenly started giggling.

"What're you imagining?" asked Michiko, curiously.

"Hehe...It's just...Shikamaru and Chouji are best friends, and Sakura and Ino used to be..." Deniizu started giggling again.

A dawning expression crept across Michiko's face.

"Shikamaru and Ino...and...ew!" Michiko laughed with Deniizu.

"Don't say that!" Naruto exclaimed, "Those girls will eat you alive if you even hint-" (A/N: Don't worry, I won't make pairings like that.)

"Oh, we won't. We won't," Deniizu said solemnly, but Michiko kept giggling.

"SASUKE-KUN!" came a sudden squeal from the door.

"Hey, I saw him first, Sakura!"

"Well, I grabbed him first, Ino-pig!"

The small group all turned their heads and saw Sakura hugging a dark-haired boy from behind, while Ino was trying to pull the boy away by tugging on his arms.

"And that's Uchiha Sasuke," said Kiba, "He's a loner type of guy by choice, and he's always at the top of the entire class. Not just boys; all of it. Not to mention that Sakura and Ino are always fighting over him."

"He's cute, but he seems really cold," Michiko mused.

Kiba and Naruto gave her a look, and Deniizu flicked her ear.

"Ow! What? I'm _not_ going to join his fanclub."

Hinata shook her head, and Kiba nudged Michiko with an elbow, pointing to a figure who was edging past the crowd at the door.

"That's Aburame Shino. He's always second in the entire class. He keeps to himself, but he's a nice enough guy once you get to know him."

"I thought he was a little scary," Hinata admitted, "But I've known him since we were little; he's nice."

"Hey, Hinata-chan, you're coming out of your shell," Naruto teased, "That's the most you've said all year!"

Hinata blushed and faced the front of the class as Shino came and sat beside her, directly in front of Michiko.

"Ohayo Hinata, Kiba, Naruto," he said in a low voice, nodding to them before sitting down.

_He totally ignored us,_ Deniizu thought indignantly, and she and Michiko shared an annoyed look.

"Don't worry; he's always like that to new people," Kiba whispered to the new girls, then tapped Shino on the shoulder, "Hey Shino, meet the new girls."

The boy in the trenchcoat turned in his chair as Kiba made introductions.

"This is Michiko and Deniizu," said Kiba, pointing to each person in turn, "They just came to Konoha."

"Hi," waved Deniizu in a friendly voice.

Michiko waved shyly. He _was_ actually a little scary in real life. Much to their annoyance, Shino merely looked for a second, then turned back to the front of the class. Deniizu's temper went up a little, but Michiko felt hurt.

_Teme_, Deniizu thought.

_Ouch..._ thought Michiko.

_What?_ Kiba was confused, _Hey, I know this guy. He'd nod if he were ok with them, or raise an eyebrow if he wasn't. What was that?_

Hinata was confused as well. She looked at Shino in the corner of her eye. Unreadable. Well, what was new?

"So...that's our class," Kiba ended lamely.

"Thanks for that," Deniizu said.

"Which tutor do _you_ want?" Michiko asked Deniizu.

At the word 'tutor', Hinata, Kiba and Naruto saw Shino flinch, but the other two didn't notice.

"I don't know...the top four of the class don't look very...promising," Deniizu said.

Another flinch.

"Do we?" asked Shino, turning around again.

Deniizu and Michiko could have sworn they saw one of those nerve things anime people get when they're mad on Shino's forehead.

"Were you eavesdropping on us just now? That's very..._rude_...you know," Deniizu said, crossing her arms and sitting back in her chair.

_Easy for you to act tough; I'm right in arm's reach of him!_ Michiko thought, but she nodded defiantly, crossing her arms as well and waiting for Shino's answer.

They didn't get an answer. Shino merely looked at them (or so they thought; his sunglasses hid his eyes) for another second, then turned around again.

"Sh-shino-kun...are you all right? You seem...tense," Hinata whispered.

"...I'm fine," came his answer.

"Strange...he's usually so polite," Naruto whispered to Deniizu.

"If you say so," Deniizu whispered back, skeptically.

"I don't think he likes us," Michiko whispered to Kiba.

"What do you think?" Kiba whispered to Akamaru, who sat on the desk.

The puppy yawned.

"Fair enough," Michiko shrugged.

"Ohayo, class!" Iruka's voice came from the front of the room.

Deniizu looked and saw that the three that were by the door had run to their seats.

"Today, I'd like to start off by introducing you to two new students," Iruka said, and motioned for Deniizu and Michiko to come to the front.

Both hesitated, then Michiko slid out of her seat, and slunk to the front of the class, her thumbs hooked into her belt. Deniizu followed right behind her, her arms crossed.

"This is Michiko," here Michiko waved shyly, her eyes glued to the floor, "...and Deniizu," here Deniizu raised an eyebrow at the class challengingly (Iruka didn't see), still standing a little behind Michiko, "They will be joining us this year, and intend to take part in the graduation exam," here there was a murmur in the class, "I know it's a bit late in the year, but I believe they both will do well," at that last sentence, he gave both of them a smile, then gave them their school supplies and technique scrolls before letting them go back to their seats.

The class was spent studying uses for the doppelganger, which Michiko and Deniizu easily soaked in. Deniizu ended up doodling on an extra bit of paper with Naruto for part of the class, while Michiko played with Akamaru under the desk where their sensei couldn't see. Then it was lunchtime; school was over for the day.

"I like this system," Michiko whispered to Deniizu, "School only lasts for half a day."

"Could Sasuke, Shino, Sakura, Ino, Deniizu, and Michiko please come to the front of the class before you go?" Iruka requested, after dismissing everyone else.

"I'll wait for you outside," Naruto said to the two girls.

"We will too," Kiba added, and Akamaru barked. Hinata gave them a shy smile, then left the class with the rest.

"Does that mean she'll wait too?" Michiko asked Deniizu, who shrugged.

The two friends followed behind Shino, who still hadn't spoken to them at all, to the front, where the rest were waiting. Sakura and Ino were fighting to stand closest to Sasuke, but furthest from Shino.

"Settle down you two," Iruka said to them, before turning to the rest, "Deniizu, Michiko, these four are the students at the top of the class. You two know that there's a lot to catch up on; even if you do well in the exam, it's important that you have background knowledge of what it is to be a shinobi. So, both of you will be assigned two tutors; one for theory/knowledge, the other for applied techniques. Do you understand?"

Michiko nodded quickly and Deniizu shrugged nonchalantly.

"Good," Iruka nodded, "The rest of these pupils of mine, I have already spoken to. They already know who they are assigned to. Deniizu, you'll be taught techniques by Sasuke, and knowledge from Ino. Michiko, Shino and Sakura will be helping you. Both of your tutors will teach you every day. Is everyone ok with this?"

Michiko and Deniizu watched Shino and Sakura in the corners of their eyes, but all of them merely nodded.

"Iruka-sensei?" Sakura raised a hand, "Will the tutors be working with each other at all?"

"No, they don't need to," Iruka answered, "In fact, it would be better if they didn't teach at the same time. That way, the pupil will not be overwhelmed."

"Oh. Ok," Sakura said calmly, while Inner Sakura was punching the air happily, saying, _Ino-pig will not get her hooves on Sasuke-kun! Love prevails!_

"Ok. No more questions? Then you may go," Iruka said, waving them towards the door.

_That might explain the coldness,_ Michiko thought, _Shino probably doesn't want to teach me. Well, I don't blame him; I'm not into tutoring strangers myself._

"Come on, Kiba and everyone are waiting," Deniizu urged.

She grabbed Michiko's elbow and rushed to the door, but a hand fell on Michiko's left, and Deniizu's right shoulders. Turning, they saw Shino and Sasuke had stopped them.

"Just so you remember," Shino said firmly, "One hour after school lets out, both of you will be training at the same time, every day, in the clearing near the east edge of the villiage."

"We only need to teach you for 2 hours, so that is all we intend to do," Sasuke said in a low voice, "Don't waste our time."

"We won't," growled Deniizu, and Michiko, though her gut was clenching up, added in a steady voice, "Don't waste ours."

Both the boys removed their hands.

"Hmph," Sasuke smirked, "Brave words. We'll see if you measure up."

Both of them stalked off without another word.

"Sasuke-kun's so cool, right? Right?" Ino asked Deniizu, hooking an arm with hers, "So, I'll be teaching you right after your taijutsu and ninjutsu lessons..."

_If _that_ was cool, I guess you think Shino's cool too, huh? _Deniizu thought, annoyed,as she was half dragged by the other girl out of the room.

As Ino'svoice faded off, Michiko and Sakura turned to each other.

"Konnichiwa," Michiko said politely.

"Nice to meet you," Sakura said, just as politely.

Both walked out of the class together. Neither were sure how to approach the other student.

"...I'm sure what happened back there looked very cool," Michiko said, "But don't you think that was a bit much?"

Sakura thought for a moment. It _did_ look mysterious and tough, but it also had looked a little menacing. Still, she wasn't going to admit a flaw in her undying love to Sasuke to this new girl. Instead, she shrugged the question off.

"I guess I'll teach you right after you and Shino train, so you and Deniizu can meet up again," Sakura said kindly.

"That works. I'll meet you in front of this school, then," Michiko said, smiling, as they stepped outside the building. Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, and Naruto were there, waiting.

"Sakura-chan! You're tutoring Michiko?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Go away, Naruto!" Sakura yelled, and turned to Michiko, saying, "I'll see you later," before walking away.

"...She seemed nice for a second there," Michiko said, stunned.

"Neh. Don't mind her. Her mind is full of Sasuke; there's no room for friends in there," said Kiba, "The same with Ino."

"Oh, where's Deniizu?" Michiko asked Hinata.

"Um...Ino dragged her somewhere. I don't know..." Hinata trailed off, looking pointedly down an empty road.

"Oh. Ok," Michiko shrugged, then said, "Well, Deniizu should be ok. Let's buy lunch somewhere. Where's a good place?"

"The ramen shop!" Naruto exclaimed, then grabbed Hinata and Michiko's hands, "Come on! Come on!"

"Hey, wait up!" Kiba yelled, as he and Akamaru ran to catch up.

And then they walked off into the sunset...oh wait...it's like noon. Oh well...

"That's enough ramen, Naruto!" Michiko exclaimed.

"One more bowl, then we can go," Naruto insisted, already paying the shop owner.

"He said that three bowls ago," Kiba muttered to Michiko, and Hinata giggled.

"I thought I'd find you here."

"Hi, Deniizu," Michiko said, not needing to turn around. She buried her face in her arms.

"Where were you?" Kiba asked, "It's been over 45 minutes."

"Ino kept talking about Sasuke, and I couldn't pry my arm out of her grasp," Deniizu complained.

"How did you get here?" Hinata asked.

"I pretended I saw Sasuke over her shoulder," Deniizu shrugged, "That distracted her enough to loosen her grip."

"Well, now it's too late for you to have much of a lunch," Michiko said, "We have to find that clearing now."

"We'll take you there," Kiba offered, "Hinata, are you going to stay here with Naruto?"

"Um...yes," she said, as the others got up.

"Ok, we'll see you tomorrow then," Deniizu said, and after a wave, she left with the rest of them.

"...Ne...where'd they go?" Naruto asked, finally looking up,"...oh well. One more bowl!"

"N-naruto-kun...I think you're eating too much. You'll have a stomach-ache..."

And then they walk off, not into the sunset, but down the street...

"Ok, we're here," Kiba said, motioning towards the large clearing.

Akamaru sniffed at the two figures in the distance and whined.

"They're getting anxious; you'd better hurry," Kiba translated, "So go! I'll see you two tomorrow!"

"See you, then," Deniizu nodded, and Michiko waved.

Kiba watched the girls hurry to their tutors before leaving.

"I hope Shino and Sasuke don't overdo it. They didn't look happy with being tutors," Kiba said to Akamaru, as they walked away from the clearing.

"Right on time," Sasuke said, "That's good. We didn't mention that the girls' prerogative for being late doesn't count here, did we?"

Deniizu sniffed, "What're you gonna do? Honestly."

Sasuke threw a shuriken at her face, but Deniizu didn't move. It whizzed past her cheek, not leaving a mark.

"You gonna teach me to do that?" Michiko asked eagerly, but that died down when she saw thatShino didn't move.

"Or you could be rude again," she mumbled, looking away and scuffing the ground with her toe.

"Neither of us want to be here," Shino said, "Now lets start. We're wasting time. We'll start with training your aim."

"Take out a shuriken that Iruka-sensei gave you," Sasuke instructed, and the lesson began.

Deniizu did well for a beginner. She at least hit in the second circle from the middle, on the targets that the boys had set up around the field. For Michiko it was a struggle to even hit the targets. Shino kept reprimanding her for holding the shuriken wrong, so Michiko suggested they try kunai. She didn't do any better with those; she dropped half of the knives before she could follow through properly. Shino finally gave up and showed her how to block, which Michiko did fairly well with; even then, the boy caustically nit-picked at she she did. Deniizu knew her friend wasn't enjoying any of it, but she also knew that Michiko didn't want anyone stepping in for her.

"Keep watching my hands," Shino said coldly, "Pay attention."

Michiko's hands were sweating; she prayed that she wouldn't drop the kunai she was using to block.

_Are you _trying_ to kill me!_ she thought, deflecting a shuriken that had been coming at her eye, _Why are you acting like this? In the manga you at least seemed respectable...I'm going to die here!_

Michiko dodged a shuriken that was coming for her forehead, and knocked away a kunai that was aimed for her leg. Deniizu, as she trained catching and throwing kunai back to Sasuke, saw her friend bite her lip.

_That b(expletive)! She's going to break down soon,_ Deniizu thought.

"How long has it been?" Shino asked, almost casually throwing a shuriken at Michiko's leg.

"Our time's about up," Sasuke answered, catching the shuriken Deniizu had thrown at him, and putting it away, "We're leaving now," he said to the girls.

"Hey...you ok?" Deniizu asked Michiko when the boys had walked out of earshot.

Michiko let herself fall onto her knees.

"I've been better..." she said faintly, then bit her lip again, "That guy...he seems different in real life."

"A lot less nice," Deniizu nodded, kneeling in front of her friend.

_She's trying to keep light of things,_ Deniizu thought, before saying, "Not so attractive anymore, huh?"

Michiko snorted, then gave a wry smile, saying, "Well, are you still going to go after Itachi? He really _would _kill you in this world."

Deniizu smiled, "Well...that'd be ok. That exactly what I expect from him."

Michiko shook her head, still smiling, and got up.

"Let's go find Ino and Sakura," she said, helping her friend up.

"Ok."

Deniizu fell in step with Michiko, and she saw the older girl give a tiny sigh.

"Hey, it's ok. The guy's a jerk," Deniizu consoled.

"I just think that was a bit much," Michiko said, her voice catching a little. She took a deep breath and shook her head, "Whatever. You're a natural, by the way."

"Meh," Deniizu shrugged, but she had a small smile on her face, "I'll help you practice, if you want."

"Sure. Now lets hurry; we'll be late."

The two friends ran to the school, ready to see how tough their second tutors would be.

And so they ran...ok, I won't mention sunsets.A two-hourlesson later...

"Deniizu! Michiko!"

Both looked up from the scrolls Ino and Sakura were showing them, and saw that the rest of their new class was waiting for them. Their tutors had made a truce that they would teach the two new students at the same time, so that they both would be learning the same things. They now sat at the front of the school, and were listening to a joint lecture from Ino and Sakura. Michiko and Deniizu waved back, and rushed to roll up the scrolls filled with information on chakra.

"No need to rush; there's plenty of daylight," Sakura said to the two.

Michiko and Deniizu gave her a questioning look and she explained.

"You're new here, so they want to get to know you. What better way than to take you around Konoha?" Sakura said.

"Kind of like a welcome party?" Deniizu asked.

"A little," Sakura nodded.

"Let's go already!" Michiko exclaimed, throwing the now rolled scrolls into the bag Sakura and Ino had brought.

"Take your time! No rush!" Ino said, dropping the (now full)bag onto Sakura.

"Oof...Hey, Ino!"

Sakura tried to hit Ino, but the blonde easily dodged it as she got up. Boiling inside, Sakura calmed herself, got up, and tried to lift the bag. She struggled with it for a moment, then Deniizu hoisted the bag onto one of her shoulders.

"I'll carry it," she said, and they both joined the rest of their class at the tree with the swing.

"We never got to welcome you officially," Kiba said.

"So here we are!" said Naruto, throwing his arms wide and practically yelling, "Welcome to our class!"

"Um...these are for you," Hinata said shyly, stepping forward and handing a carefully wrapped package to each of them.

"...Arigato," Michiko thanked, and Deniizu smiled and nodded her appreciation.

"Do we open them now?" Deniizu asked, shaking her gift a little and listening.

"Yeah! Open them before we go around the village," Sakura encouraged.

Michiko knelt to the ground and carefully took off the ribbon and worked away the tape, while Deniizu tore right into it right away.

"Why are you taking your time like that?" Sasuke said, sounding bored.

Both the new girls looked up in surprise. No doubt about it, Sasuke and Shino were there as well, in the back.

"I like saving the paper," Michiko mumbled, carefully peeling off a bit of tape.

"How troublesome...Can't you just open it and get on with this?" Shikamaru yawned.

"Aw, cool! Special kunai!" Deniizu exclaimed, opening the box that was wrapped, "And a special box for a brush and ink! ...there are 9 separate gifts here...did all of you get something for each of us?"

"Yup," nodded Ino, "We all went for gifts while you two were training, and Sasuke and Shino added something when you were with Sakura and me."

"Those kunai were from Sasuke," said Chouji, his mouth full of chips, "And the brush set is from Sakura. I gave both of you specially decorated eating utensils, see?" he said, pointing to Deniizu's set.

"This was very kind of all of you," Michiko said smiling widely, looking at a small jar of homemade handcream.

"Hinata gave you two that," Shikamaru said, pointing to the jars.

"We were glad to do this," Hinata said softly.

"We don't get newcomers in the middle of the year often, anyway," said Naruto.

"Who gave these?" Deniizu asked.

She held up a black, spiked bracelet that changed colours in different lights, with a matching necklace, and Michiko held up a brush and comb made of what looked like blue stone.

"Wow..." Michiko whispered, "They're beautiful."

Everyone stayed dead silent. Naruto scratched his head, and Hinata played with her fingers. Sakura and Ino looked around the school yard, as if they hadn't heard. Chouji continued eating his chips, and Shikamaru yawned again. Kiba and Akamaru gave each other a look. Sasuke acted bored, and Shino kept standing all mysterious-like. No-one looked at the two girls before them; they looked at each other, or away, or at their feet. It was an awkward silence, filled with shifting weight and the sound of chips crunching. A tumbleweed rolled in the background. ...or maybe not a tumbleweed.

"...ok..." Deniizu said after a bit, "Let's _not_ get an answer."

Michiko carefully put the items back into the box, as well as the wrapping paper she had kept whole, and Deniizu did the same.

"So show us around your village then," Deniizu said, and the tension was broken.

"Come on, we'll take you by your place so you can drop off your stuff, and then we can start at the cliff where the Hokage's faces are sculpted!" Naruto exclaimed, "I'm going to be Hok- Ouch!"

"We know, Naruto, shut up," Sakura ordered, after hitting at the back of his head.

"Let's go," said Kiba, leading the way with Akamaru.

Michiko linked arms with Deniizu as they walked with their new-found friends.

"This isn't so bad," she whispered, to her friend, "I like it here, actually."

"...But how long will it last?" Denise whispered back after a moment, voicing both of their thoughts.

* * *

A/N: (singing)Kanashimi wo Yasashisa Ni...(stops singing) I love that song! It's the opening credits song for the...third season, I think. And Gaara looks so adorable...Now review, you! 


	4. Day Three: Interesting morning

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, genjutsu, plush frogs, a set of shougi and go, or any Pocky. I'd like some Pocky...Pocky is good...

* * *

Deniizu opened her eyes slowly, taking her time waking up. She could tell instinctively that it was not quite sunrise yet. 

_Am I still here?_ she thought, and looked around the small room, just moving her eyes, _I am...good. I don't want to go back._

"'Morning," Michiko said, sitting crosslegged on the balcony behind their tiny apartment, facing away from her friend.

"Hey," Deniizu said sleepily, rubbing her face with her hands, "You're up early."

"I don't need that much sleep here," Michiko said, "I feel better than back at home. I got up early to look at the gifts they gave us."

Deniizu rolled off of her mat and faced her backpack. She had placed her presents beside it the night before. Picking up her own bundle, she crawled out the door to sit beside Michiko. Both were still in their pyjamas.

"You really like these, huh," Deniizu said, more than asked, as she placed her gifts the same way Michiko had them.

First the plush frogs that Naruto had bought them were placed farthest to the left. Then Sasuke's special kunai, and Sakura's brush and ink sets were placed beside that. Copying how Michiko had laid them out, Deniizu started a new row, with Chouji's set of eating utensils and placed special hair ribbons beside that, as well as a book, and then started a third row with Hinata's handcream.

"The ribbons are probably from Ino," Michiko grinned, holding up her green one.

"Of course," Deniizu muttered, wrinkling her nose at the red one she had, "The books are probably from Shikamaru. What's yours about? Mine's about strategies for that Japanese chess game."

"I got a notebook...a really thick one," Michiko commented, placing a book with clouds decorating its cover beside her hair ribbon, "I'll never finish writing in it...maybe you could help me. We can write about our lives here in Konoha. If we ever go back to..._earth_, or whatever, at least we have the notebook."

"Not much of a substitute, but ok," Deniizu nodded, placing her book by her own ribbon, "What are your last two gifts?" she asked, holding the black necklace and bracelet in one hand, and brass knuckles with wickedly sharp hooks where the knuckles should be, "I like whoever gave me these."

"They seemed to pick up on your personality right away," Michiko said wryly, holding her brush and comb in one hand, like Denise, and a scroll with 'good-luck' written all over it in different styles of writing in the other hand, "I don't think any of them think I'm much good at fighting," she added; instead of kunai, Sasuke had given her an ornate dagger.

"...hey, Michelle..." Denise nudged her with an elbow and the older girl nodded.

"We can read and speak Japanese. I know. It may have something to do with the whole parallel dimension thing," Michelle said, and put the scroll down by Hinata's handcream.

"Do you remember this, too?" Denise asked, rubbing one of her temples, then planting an image into Michelle's mind.

Michelle flinched, but she didn't cry out. Denise had put a mental 'video' of Michelle on fire, picking up a stray puppy without harming it, and walking out of a burning farm. Michelle didn't know how, but in some way she recognized it as one of Denise's memories.

"Bloodline limits," Michelle muttered.

The dark girl ran a hand through her long hair, deep in thought. Well, she tried to, but her hair was still tangled from sleep. Denise put the necklace and brass knuckles down, and tried fastening her bracelet onto her wrist, as Michelle absently brushed her hair with her gift.

"So...you can turn into elements, and I have telepathy and telekinesis," Denise said, fiddling with the bracelet's clasp, "We'll be chuunins in no time."

"Says you...I can't even use Substitution no jutsu properly," Michelle muttered, braiding her hair.

Denise decided to change the subject; she knew her friend was feeling badly.

"Who do you think gave us the different gifts?" Denise asked, finally getting the bracelet onto her wrist.

"Kiba gave me the scroll, and Shino have me the brush and comb," Michelle said.

"How do you know?" Denise asked, surprised, "That was fast."

"I had a lot of time to think about it," Michelle shrugged, "The scroll has dog teeth marks on it, and that leaves Shino for last."

"Oh, I think he likes you," Denise teased, nudging Michelle with her elbow again.

"Yeah, right," Michelle laughed, elbowing Denise back playfully before sobering up, "I wish...But you saw him yesterday. I haven't figured out who gave you the jewelry and knuckles, though. But I have an idea to find out."

"These spikes are honestly the coolest things," Denise said, admiring the sharp barbs, "But how do you intend to find out who gave these?" Denise asked, then automatically read Michelle's current thoughts, "Wear the bracelet to school, then check and see what Kiba and Shino think? That's like cheating."

"Like you never used it during Takona's lessons," Michelle laughed again, remembering the old man who had taught the girls their basic knowledge in the Tea Village.

Denise laughed too, but both still thought that having other memories was a little strange.

Deniizu's bloodline limit had first shown when she was six years old; she was already adopted by the village by then. She could only do small things at first, like lift a small cup, or talk to someone a few feet away. As she grew up, her ability also matured. Now, Deniizu could talk to people about one hundred paces away, as well as read their current thoughts, and lift the weight that oxen could pull. She was still learning more about her ability, and learning was slow as she had to teach herself. But as she used her mind abilities often, she was growing steadily.

Michiko had a more obscure ability. She could become fire, water, earth, ice, stone, and part of the air around her. She first discovered this when Deniizu had accidentally set her own clothes on fire during a festival in the Tea Village when they were about eight. Michiko had turned her hand into water and put out the fire, and since then she had been trying to discover more about her ability.Slowly, but steadily, she was learning.

"Sun's starting to come up," Michiko said, nodding to the sky.

Deniizu fastened the necklace around her neck, and stood up.

"I'm going to get ready for school," she said, and Michiko stood up as well.

"I'll make breakfast," she answered, and both entered their apartment.

About an hour later...

"Ohayo, Michi-chan! Nice necklace, Deni-chan!" Naruto exclaimed.

Deniizu jumped up and turned to face the open doorway wielding one of her training kunai. Michiko froze in the middle of drinking a glass of milk.

"You should knock on the door!" Denise yelled, "This isn't your house!"

"Well, you didn't lock it," Naruto defended in a grumpy voice.

_He got her a nice necklace...no, I promised him I wouldn't tell_, Naruto thought.

_That didn't help_, Deniizu thought, withdrawing from his thoughts.

"Hey, how come you guys never have any ramen?" Naruto asked, making himself right at home and looking through their cupboards.

"Oh...I keep meaning to buy some," said Michiko, looking at the almost empty cupboards, "But I never get around doing it. Both of us will need jobs soon," she added, looking at Deniizu.

"You both can go look around after your tutoring," said Naruto, waving his arms, "Let's go to school!"

"I didn't know you liked school so much," Michiko said dryly, finishing her milk and putting the glass in the sink.

"Ne...I just want both of you to catch up in class," Naruto said, looking at his sandals.

"Only if you do too," Deniizu said seriously, "You said yourself that you were at the bottom of the class."

"Whatever," Naruto said, putting his hands behind his head, "When I become Hokage, I'll change the rules around here so that you don't need to learn stuff like the stupid history of Konoha in school."

"Everyone needs to know a little bit of history," Michiko said, checking to make sure her thick braid was tied properly, "Otherwise we'd make the same mistakes other people did before."

"Can we just go to school?" Naruto asked, annoyed, and both girls followed him out of their apartment.

"What do you think we should do later today?" Michiko asked her two friends as they walked, "Other than job-hunting, I mean."

"Well, how about I go job-hunting, while you go to market and buy groceries," suggested Deniizu, "I'll end up buying manga instead of food while I'm there."

"Good idea," Michiko said, grinning.

"Do you want a guide around the village?" Naruto asked Deniizu, "I know a few places that are hiring right now."

"Like where?" asked Deniizu.

"Well, there's the manga store-"

"That's my first stop," the brown-haired girl grinned.

"Then there's the ramen stall, looking for a new waitress, and the hot springs people need a receptionist for some days, and there's always babysitting, housesitting, or taking care of pets," finished Naruto.

"Hm...pets, huh?" Michiko thought out loud, "We'd have to advertise that ourselves."

"Yeah, but there's almost always someone who's looking for help," said Naruto.

"Ok, thanks, we'll keep those in mind," said Deniizu, giving the boy a thumbs-up as they entered the school.

"Hey, we didn't see Kiba today," Michiko realized.

"There he is," Deniizu said, pointing at the boy who was already at his seat.

As the three walked into the classroom, they saw that Sasuke was early and already in his seat, as well as Kiba, Hinata, and Shino.

"Ohayo Hinata, Kiba, Shino," Naruto greeted, walking towards his desk.

Hinata blushed and mumbled an 'ohayo' in return.

_I swear Hinata and Naruto would be the cutest couple_, Michiko thought, grinning to herself as she walked behind Deniizu.

"Ohayo Hinata, Kiba," Deniizu greeted, purposely ignoring Shino as she sat at her place beside Naruto.

Michiko kept smiling as she waved to Shino, but the boy seemed to refuse looking at her. Her smile faded and she mumbled a 'morning' Hinata and Kiba before sliding into her seat beside Kiba.

_Shino, why are you like this?_ Hinata thought, sadly.

_She's wearing the necklace and bracelet I bought her!_ Kiba was thinking happily.

_It was you!_ Deniizu thought.

"Thanks for the jewelry, Kiba!" Deniizu exclaimed, reaching over her desk and giving Kiba a hug.

"Ow," said Kiba, as the necklace poked him, "Um, you're welcome. How did you know...?"

_If Naruto told them, I'll kill him with my bare hands_, Kiba thought.

"Oh, um...lucky guess. And I can't imagine Shino giving away jewelry," said Deniizu, sitting normally again.

_I wonder if she used that brush and comb that I gave her_, Denise suddenly heard Shino thinking, _Her hair looks nice in a braid..._

_What the...?_ Denise looked at the back of Shino's head.

The boy was still facing the chalkboard, as if he had thought nothing of the sort, but Deniizu was sure that she had just picked up Shino's thoughts.

_Does he really...?_ Denise thought, then shook her head, _No way. Not after how he acted yesterday._

Michiko doodled and wrote in the notebook Shikamaru had given her quietly, and Deniizu planned the rest of her day with Naruto and Kiba while the rest of their class came into the room. As Iruka walked into the classroom and began the lesson, Michiko slipped the notebook to Deniizu, who sat behind her, and pulled out a few sheets of paper to make notes in. The two girls had made a deal: every other day, one of them would take notes, while the other could just listen, or do whatever they wanted. They would then share the notes and study together afterwards.

"Today we will be learning about the nukenin," Iruka said, and turned to the chalkboard to write key terms and bits of information that they had to remember.

_Missing nins...boring_, Deniizu thought, and turned to a fresh page in the notebook to doodle, _That reminds me of my love, Itachi._

Michiko rubbed Akamaru behind his ears with the back of her pencil between writing things down.

"You're lucky you don't have to take these dumb notes," she whispered to the dog, who whined softly in sympathy.

As Deniizu was sketching a sharingan eye in the notebook, a folded piece of paper landed on Michiko's desk. Opening it discreetly, she read the note:

'Are you going grocery shopping in the market later? I can help you, if you want.' -Hinata.

Michiko quickly scribbled an answer, refolded the paper, and carefully tossed the note when she was sure Iruka wasn't looking.

'That'd be nice. Can I meet you near the ramen stall after my extra lessons?' -Michiko.

Hinata glanced at the other girl in the corner of her eye, and gave her a quick smile.

_I will take that as an 'ok'_, Michiko thought, and turned back to her notes.

"ITACHI!" Deniizu suddenly yelled.

The rest of the class looked at the girl strangely (including Akamaru), and Michiko looked at the board, then sweat-dropped.

"Yes, Deniizu, Uchiha Itachi is the example that I'm using," Iruka-sensei said patiently, "Is there a problem?"

"No, no problem," Deniizu said, "It's just that I love Itachi so much!"

A nerve popped on Michiko's forehead, and another sweatdrop appeared by the first one. Burying her head in her arms to hide a steadily blushing face, she felt everyone's eyes on her and her friend.

_What's with the weird new kids? _the whole class was thinking.

_I wanted Shino to look at me, but not like this_, Deniizu heard her think, _I'll get you for this, Denise._

_You..._love_ my brother, do you?_ Sasuke was thinking.

Shino's face was painted with disapproval, and he was thinking, _Deniizu, you know that you are embarrassing Michiko, right?_

_She...loves...Itachi? The family killer!_ Kiba thought wildly, That's_ what she wants!_

Deniizu heard all these thoughts, and decided that she should be quiet.

"Um...yeah. That's all I wanted to say," Deniizu said lamely.

"Deniizu, do you know who Uchiha Itachi _is_," Iruka asked, surprised, "He murdered-"

"His entire family, except Sasuke, I know!" Deniizu exclaimed, excited again, "And he's really good at genjutsu, and learned even faster than his brother does now! And Itachi is _so_ cool because he kills things so easily, because he's just that good!"

Deniizu gushed on and on about her undying love for the missing nin, gesturing with the notebook still in her hand. Michiko prayed that she would stop soon. The older girl saw the looks on Hinata and Sasuke's faces.

_Training with Sasuke is _not_ going to be fun, later_, Michiko thought, _Deniizu, you can probably hear this, so please stop talking about that guy! You're scaring Hinata._

Iruka listened for about two minutes of constant praise for Itachi, then suddenly walked to Deniizu's desk and snagged the notebook out of her hand.

"What's this?"

Deniizu immediately snatched for the cloud-decorated book, but Iruka kept it out of her reach as he flipped through it. He stopped at the page Deniizu had just been doodling on, and held it up for the class to see.

In the book, Deniizu had sketched a picture of Itachi in a big heart, with various phrases like 'I love Itachi' and 'We will kill the world together' written in fancy letters.

Deniizu blushed a little, but she crossed her arms in front of her and leaned back in her chair.

"Yeah, so I love Itachi. You all knew that already," she said calmly.

_And I thought _I_ had great love for Sasuke_, Sakura thought, an eyebrow twitching.

_That girl is almost as scary as my mom_, Shikamaru thought.

_Mm, chips_, Chouji thought, crunching away.

_Time to play the evil teacher card_, Iruka thought tiredly, and he flipped through the notebook to a page he had noticed, _If I can't get to her, I'll get to someone else who will get her to behave._

"Ah, what have we here?" Iruka read from the notebook, " 'Deniizu sometimes tries too hard while cooking; I'd better buy ramen soon so that we won't have boiled cabbage anymore.' "

Michiko's head shot up; that was what she had written earlier that day.

_I meant that in the nicest way possible, Denii-chan_, she thought.

" '...ok, that was kind of a mean comment. But I meant that in the nicest way possible, so if Deniizu reads this, she'll understand,' " Iruka continued.

_See?_ thought Michiko, putting here head back down.

_Meh. I know I can't cook_, Deniizu thought back.

" 'Speaking of mean, why isn't Shino being at least polite with me? He's so cute, he should have manners to match, at least,' " Iruka read out loud.

All of the class's ears twitched.

_Oh..._thought Sakura, sweatdropping.

_...my..._thought Hinata, eyes going wide.

_...gawd..._thought Ino, breaking her pencil.

_Did..._thought Shikamaru, actually sitting up straight.

_...she..._thought Chouji, a chip falling out of his mouth.

_...just..._thoughtKiba, exchanging a shocked look with Akamaru.

_...call..._thought Sasuke, looking very confused.

_...me..._thought Shino, turning in his seat to face Michiko.

"CUTE!" exclaimed Naruto.

He jumped up from his seat beside a shocked Deniizu and pointed at a highly embarrassed Michiko. Everyone else in the class turned to the two newest members of their class.

"HOW CAN YOU THINK THAT CREEPY GUY IS _CUTE?_!" yelled Naruto.

Michiko looked around at all the faces that were turned to her, then did an amazing thing. She turned into water and became a puddle on the floor.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO!" Naruto yelled again, staring at the puddle that seemed to be flowing towards the door.

"Shut up, teme!" Deniizu exclaimed, jumping up.

She hit Naruto at the front of the face so he fell into his chair, and turned to the teacher, deftly snatching back the notebook and sitting down. She threw the notebook into her bag, and pulled out a pencil and sheet of paper.

"There, I'm taking notes, ok? I'm being good; you should start teaching while it lasts," Deniizu said.

"...is your friend there going to be joining us any time soon?" Iruka asked, raising an eyebrow and gesturing towards the slowly flowing puddle.

"I'll try to talk her into staying," Deniizu said, nodding, and slid out of her chair while Iruka went to the front of the classroom and continued writing notes on the board.

"Michiko..."

Deniizu squatted by the puddle, which stopped when she heard her name.

"Michiko, I'm sorry I embarrassed you," Deniizu whispered.

_You should,_ Michiko was thinking, _Look at what happened!_

"I'm looking. Hey, we can't miss any class. And this is definitely true, since _I'm_ saying it; I'm the kid that skips class, remember?"

_I'll come back tomorrow; you just finish my notes for me_, Michiko thought, _If I stay here, no-one will be able to concentrate._

"Fine. But at least be there for training," Deniizu said.

As she walked away, she heard the puddle thinking as it flowed underneath the doorway, _Huh. Training. Right, I can _totally_ show my face at training. Shino...this isn't going to be comfortable. And Sasuke's probably really mad at you for loving his _brother._ His _brother! _What were you thinking?_

With that last thought, Deniizu shook her head, and sat in Michiko's seat. She focused on writing notes for the next couple hours, trying not to feel the rest of the students' stares.


	5. Day Three: Eventful afternoon

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, bloodline limits, or a giant manga store. But that would be nice.

_

* * *

_

_Class is over...and I managed to evade the rest of class during lunch...whew._

Deniizu carried the notebook and a spare sandwich and a flask of water in her bag.

_Michiko is not going to be happy. Maybe this food with soften the blow,_ the girl thought.

Deniizu walked quietly down roads and alleyways that most people did not walk through, as she headed for the training field. She guessed that her friend was already there.

_I feel kind of bad about earlier...I hope she's ok,_ Deniizu thought, arriving at the field.

"OW!"

Deniizu rubbed her arm, where Michiko had punched her.

"That hurt," mumbled Deniizu.

"Consider it payback. Oo, is that food?"

Michiko took the bag from Deniizu and pulled out the sandwich.

"Cheese and butter. That'll work," the girl said, before taking a bite out of it, "So, past differences aside, what did I miss in class?"

Deniizu grinned, and told Michiko a summary of what they had learned about missing-nins after she had left. Michiko nodded once she was done, finishing off her sandwich.

"That basically a review of what I got from the manga," she said, drinking the juice, and Deniizu nodded.

"What do you think we're training today?" the younger girl asked.

"We're practicing taijutsu today," Shino said, stepping into the field with Sasuke.

_He hasn't changed at all..._Michiko thought sadly, then mentally slapped herself, _What do I care? He's a jerk, and that's the end of that._

"That's hand-to-hand..." Sasuke started explaining, bored, but Deniizu waved that off.

"Yeah, yeah, we know. The Tea Village isn't that isolated," she said, annoyed, and headed off to their side of the field.

"Bitch," Sasuke growled under his breath, and followed after her, sulkily.

_The Japanese gangster walk?_ Michiko thought, watching him; he carried himself differently now, kind of like a lope.

_He's getting into his fighting stance...I'm glad Deniizu's a fast learner,_ Shino thought, then turned to Michiko.

The girl was looking at her sandals, shuffling her feet in the dirt.

_She's very timid,_ Shino thought, and winced, _I'm sorry I have to act like this...but Iruka-sensei said it was the best way for you to learn. I know I'm hurting you..._

Michiko felt his eyes on her and hesitantly met his gaze. She couldn't see most of his face, and took his look to be annoyed.

_He really doesn't like me,_ she thought, shrinking a little inside.

The girl crossed her arms in front of her, and raised her eyebrows.

"Is that the best defence stance you have?" Shino asked.

Michiko blinked, then turned a little sideways, putting her feet parallel to her shoulders. She bent her knees a little, staying on the balls of her feet, and held her arms up, the left (closest to Shino) between her and Shino, the right across her front.

_Good..._Shino thought, then said, "Block with your forearms the punches I throw at you. Deflect them away; make sure you keep no openings."

_Think sparring with Denise,_ Michiko thought, and nodded.

Shino came at her...

She had more talent with taijutsu, having wrestled with her friends. Shino noticed she had excellent peripheral vision, and her reflexes improved as they got further and furthing into the 'fight'. She managed to deflect all of Shino's punches, which he gave at an average speed.

_Normally, a new fighter would need me to slow down,_ Shino thought, _But she's actually pretty quick._

"All right, stop," Shino commanded, taking a step back from her.

Michiko thought about putting her arms down, but decided against it.

_This is training; I can't let my guard down,_ she thought.

"Good; you are still aware. Now I want you to try to block or dodge punches _and_ kicks. Punches are usually only blocked with your arms, and kicks can either be deflected by arms or legs. Be ready," Shino said, then came at her again.

_She's good at blocking,_ Shino thought, and she was.

Michiko concentrated on nothing but blocking, and things were crystal clear for her. Anger would have been even better, and she knew that, but she was more nervous if anything.

_If he's mad about the notebook, he may get vicious,_ she thought, _Then he'll really try to hit me. I have to concentrate._

"Try attacking now," Shino said.

"What? Aren't there special techniques in taijutsu?" Michiko asked.

"What's the point if you can't even do the basic attacks, baka?" Shino shot back.

_Ouch..._Michiko thought, squirming inside,then began her own attacks.

The first punch went for his face, which Shino managed to block.

_She's really fast,_ he thought, surprised, _Were there street fights in the Tea Village or something?_

_Good, Michelle's doing well,_ Denise thought, then focused back to her own training.

Sasuke had been bearing down on her since they started, attacking faster than Shino was with Michiko, but of course that was to be expected. Fortunately, Deniizu had taken Aikido back in her own world, so she knew a thing or two about fighting.

"How do you know about my brother?" Sasuke hissed, aiming a punch at her head.

"What's it to you, Sucks-uke?" Deniizu shot back, sneering at him as she aimed a kick at him.

"I'd like to know, kuso-head," Sasuke said, trying to elbow her stomach.

"I love him. You know that already," Deniizu said sweetly, grinding her heel on his toe, "Weren't you paying attention in class, bastard? You must have the intellect of your dead father."

"You bitch!" he yelled, and managed to backhand her.

Deniizu stumbled about three steps from the hit, but Sasuke wasn't done with her.

"Your mother was a whore, and your friend there is twice as bad!"

Several nerves popped on Deniizu's forehead, and she gave Sasuke her best death stare. Sasuke matched it with his, and both got into their fighting stances again.

"Trash talk my mother, for all I care; I hate her. But not my friends," Deniizu growled, "_Never_ my friends."

Both launched themselves at each other, and set to fighting with a will. Michiko noticed in the corner of her eye that Deniizu was lifting a hefty log with her telekinesis.

"Stop! Stop!"

Michiko somehow managed, to push Shino's shoulders so that they both took a couple steps away from each other.

"What's the matter with you? Don't waste my time," Shino said, annoyed.

"We have to stop them from fighting," Michiko said, pointing to the other two students, "Deniizu's really, really mad."

"...Is that a floating log?" Shino asked, pointing.

"Yes it is!" Michiko half-yelled, half-sighed, "Can you stop it somehow before she squashes him with it?"

"...Deniizu is making that log float?" Shino asked, "What sort of jutsu is that?"

"It's not a jutsu, it's her bloodline limit...augh!" Michiko exclaimed, "That's not important! We have to keep her from hitting Sasuke with it."

"Will she really do that?" Shino asked casually, still not moving.

"Yes, she will!" Michiko yelled, now panicking, "Fine! I'll stop them myself!"

The girl ran towards the other two future ninjas, and Shino watched, shaken.

_She's angry. I'm not sure if she really needs anger for taijutsu, but if she really needs it when under stress...better safe than sorry,_ Shino thought, trying with all his willpower to act calm and uncaring, _Just keep her mad, and she'll learn better; that's what Iruka-sensei said. When she practices when angry, she may be able to recall things better when calm. I just hope she doesn't totally hate me after this. Well, she thinks I'm cute. ...what if she just meant larva-type cute? _Shino shook his head, _I'd better focus on breaking the other two up._

Michiko had reached the two fighters, who were circling each other at an extremely fast pace, throwing blows that were just as quick, if faster.

_I'm not going to do much jumping in, _the girl thought, _I'd better try to talk them out of it._

"Deniizu, Sasuke, why're you doing this?" she said in a loud, clear voice, "This isn't training; this is nonsense!"

"Shut up, bitch," Sasuke yelled, punching Deniizu in the stomach.

"Don't distract me," Deniizu gasped, grabbing Sasuke's ankle and flipping him.

"Cut it out!" Michiko exclaimed, "What's this proving? You're both being fools!"

"He called you a whore, you know," Deniizu said, trying to stomp on Sasuke's chest, but he rolled out of the way, grabbed her ankle, and floored her.

Michiko's eye twitched, then she shook it off.

"That's no excuse. You should stop fighting my fights," Michiko said, noticing that the log was getting closer.

"Can't you do anything about that log?" Michiko whispered to Shino.

"I'm thinking," Shino said, acting as if he couldn't care less. Michiko glared at him.

"It's your fault if Sasuke dies," she growled, then turned back to the other two, who were now grappling on the ground, "You know that looks really wrong."

Sasuke froze for a split second, which was his mistake. Deniizu took the chance to bring the log right towards the base of Sasuke's neck.

"Don't!" Shino yelled, taking a step forward and making a few hand seals.

"I got it covered," Michiko called back to him, and gathered chakra in her feet, allowing her to leap forward.

Shino watched and saw Michiko gather chakra into her fist, carefully, and releasing it just as her fist came in contact with the log. The result was quite satisfying: a great explosion of wood.

"Nice..." Deniizu said, nodding to the sudden shower of splinters. That was her mistake.

Sasuke's fist came right in contact to Deniizu's nose. No chakra was needed there; a smack was heard, and Deniizu's nose fountained with blood.

"You broke my nose! Teme!"

The grappling began again, but now Michiko was really upset. She transformed into air in order to squeeze between the two other ninjas, and transformed back to herself, and pushed Sasuke up so that he stumbled backwards and stood,while Michikocontinued to sit on Deniizu.

"This is the part where you st-!" Michiko began, but Sasuke didn't let her finish.

Sasuke's fist came in contact with thefront of Michiko's face, and she went reeling backwards. Deniizu jumped up, nose still bleeding, but face livid, and was about to jump at the boy, but Shino stepped between both of them.

"That is enough," he said coldly, "Any child can lose their temper and get into a scrap. A ninja harnesses their anger and uses it for something useful. You, Deniizu, I can accept; you're new here. Sasuke," Shino looked at the boy in question angrily, "For you, this is the most pathetic thing I have ever seen."

Sasuke glared at Shino for a moment, before turning away.

"Training is over," Sasuke said over his shoulder, and he left the clearing.

Michiko got up slowly, and held out a hand to Deniizu. Her friend took it, and the older girl helped her up.

"Um...thanks, Shino," Michiko said, quietly, but the boy walked back to their side of the field.

"Sasuke may want to end training 45 minutes early, but I don't," said Shino.

Michiko sighed, and Deniizu patted her shoulder.

"You really should stop liking him," Deniizu advised, carefully fingering her nose.

"His attitude...it doesn't seem natural to me," Michiko said softly, but she rubbed one of her upper arms, "It stills hurts, though. Oh! Your nose."

"No, it's ok," Deniizu said, but Michiko had her hands on it already, "What're you doing?"

"Takona used to give me lessons for this, privately," she answered, and used chakra to set and heal Deniizu's nose, "He taught me small things; anyone in big accidents that happened in our village were sent to Konoha, remember?"

"Yeah...I never really gave it that much thought, though," Deniizu said, wiping away her blood with a tissue Michiko produced from her pouch, "Do you want me to stay with you while you train?"

Michiko checked tosee if her eyewas bruised from Sasuke's punch. It was.

"It's your choice," Michiko shrugged, healing her eye, "You'll be bored just watching; and you should be job hunting anyway."

Deniizu nodded.

"Ok, I'll meet you with Ino and Sakura in a bit," she said, and walked out of the clearing.

_It's just me and you, Shino,_ Michiko thought, walking towards the boy, _A lovely time for you to be mean to me, and I'll just stand there and take it. Life's not fair..._

"Ok," Michiko said, putting herself into her fighting stance, "Let's go."

Several bruises and rejected job applications later...

"So that's what bloodline limits are, in a nutshell," Sakura finished.

She and Ino were sitting in front of Michiko and Deniizu, by the front of the ninja school. Both were looking expectantly at their pupils now, and the other two girls glanced at each other.

"You want to know about what happened in class today," Michiko sighed, and Deniizu crossed her arms.

"Yes!" Ino exclaimed, and jumped to Michiko's side, putting an arm around her, "So why did you melt like that in class? Is it a bloodline limit? And does Deniizu have one too?"

"Why did I 'melt' in class. Hm," Michiko rolled her eyes, "Yes, it's my bloodline limit. I can turn into elements. And their related to my emotions, so if I get really strong ones, then I transform."

"So, because you were really embarrassed, you became water," Sakura said.

_No shit, Sherlock,_ Denise thought, as Michiko nodded.

"Do you have a special ability?" Sakura asked Deniizu.

_Telepathy and telekinesis,_ Deniizu said into the other three girls' heads, and of course that caused a sensation.

"Can you read minds?" Ino asked, excitedly.

Deniizu shrugged, "I don't know anything about my ability. I can't read your memories and things, but I can 'hear' your current thoughts. For now. I might still be developing."

"Oh," the blonde and pink-haired girls said.

"That's neat," said Ino, nodding, "The others in our class want to know what happened too."

"We figured," Deniizu said dryly.

"We'll tell them when they ask," Michiko added.

"Or you could always tell them for us," said Deniizu, "But stick to the facts, would you?"

"We will," Sakura nodded.

"I won't embellish anything," Ino agreed.

"Ok, well _I_ have to go job hunting," Deniizu said, getting up.

"I have some errands to run," Michiko said, rising.

"I'm expected at home," Sakura said.

"I have to help out at our flower shop," Ino said, as she and Sakura got up at the same time.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Michiko said, waving, and she and Deniizu walked off.

"Where are you going first?" she asked Deniizu.

"I was thinking the manga store," Deniizu grinned, and Michiko rolled her eyes.

"Anything for your Yaoi manga," the older girl groaned, and Deniizu laughed.

"So I'll meet you at home in a couple hours for dinner?" Deniizu asked.

"Yeah. Oh, and buy us some plates and things, would you?" Michiko asked, "We don't even have anything for ourselves. The money our village gave us should be enough."

"Ok," Deniizu said, and with a slight wave to the other, they parted.

Michiko walked down the road to the marketplace, trying to walk as silently as possible, and going through a mental list of grocery items.

_May as well practice stealth walking while I'm here,_ she thought, _We need instant noodles, milk, bread, maybe a few eggs, vegetables, soup stock...what else?_

The girl felt a presence behind her, and saw Shino.

_Great...he's going to pick on me,_ she thought sarcastically, _Why me?_

"Hi," Shino said, falling into step beside her.

_What?_

Michiko looked at the boy beside her, confused.

"Um...um, hi," she said, with a weak smile.

"You aren't bruised," Shino said, "You got hit by Sasuke, and you don't have a mark."

_Oh..._that's_ what he wanted to talk about,_ Michiko thought.

"Um...I turned my face into stone, so his fist probably hurts more," she lied.

"Stone?" Shino raised an eyebrow.

"Oh...um...my bloodline limit. I can turn into elements and things. You saw how I turned into water in class, and air when Sasuke and Deniizu were fighting," Michiko mumbled.

"I see...So you're all right, then?" he asked.

Michiko almost stopped walking. That tone of voice was so...kind.

_What's going on?_ Michiko thought.

_Please don't be upset with me,_ Shino thought.

"Um...yeah. I'm ok," Michiko nodded, giving him a smile.

"Good," he said, still with that gentle tone.

Michiko looked at her companion again. He didn't turn to look back at her; rather, he seemed to be avoiding looking at her. The question 'why' was at the tip of her tongue, but she didn't ask it; something told her that he would be cold to her again.

"...You don't have any plans?" Michiko asked him.

"Not really," he answered smoothly, "My father wants me to focus on becoming a ninja right now; that's fine by me. Usually I'd be training, but..."

The boy fell silent, and Michiko didn't press for him to continue.

_Whatever. Your life,_ she thought, _...what about your mother? She's never mentioned in the manga._

"What are you doing now?" Shino asked casually.

"I need to do some grocery shopping," Michiko answered, "Hinata said she'd meet me at market."

The girl half expected Shino to walk away at that, but he stayed with her.

"You don't mind me accompanying you?" Shino asked.

"Not at all," Michiko answered, and realized that she meant it.

They arrived at the marketplace, which was still buzzing with energy. Other villagers were doing their grocery shopping too. Michiko stood by the ramen stall and shaded her eyes with one hand, searching for Hinata. Shino seemed to merely stand beside her, but he was searching as well. After a moment, he pointed to the girl with white eyes, who was approaching.

"There she is," Shino said, and Michiko walked forward to greet her friend.

"Hi, Hinata," Michiko smiled as Shino nodded.

"Hi, Michi-chan, Shino-kun," Hinata greeted, with a shy smile and small bow, "I'm sorry I'm late; I was helping my sister with homework."

"That's ok; there's no rush," Michiko said graciously, "What do you need to get? We'll finish your list, and then I'll get anything that wasn't also there."

"O-ok," Hinata nodded, beaming as she pulled out a short list from a pocket, "Um...I need vegetables..."

_Shino-kun...you've stepped forward,_ Hinata thought, as they began their errand, _I hope you will explain soon._

All three began walking towards the vegetable stall, then Hinata looked up from her list and stopped dead in her tracks.

"What is it?" Michiko asked, and she and Shino stopped as well.

"I-it's...i-i-it's Neji," she stuttered, shaking where she was.

Michiko's ears perked up, then remembered that this was before Neji had become friendly(ish) in the manga.

"Neji who?" she asked casually, looking around the square.

"Hyuuga Neji," Shino answered, stepping in front of Hinata.

Shino nodded towards the fruit stall, and Michiko followed his gaze. There was the Hyuuga prodigy, the genius of one of the most deadly clans, examining an orange.

_Huh. I'd say that that looks really surreal, but I won't, _Michiko thought, _It's strange though...I've read about him defeating a creepy spider-kind of guy, barely escaping with his life, and reforming from complete jerk to a...moderately nice jounin, and here I see him picking out lunch._

"You're related?" Michiko asked, thinking, _Yeah, like I don't know._

"My c-cousin," Hinata nodded, still shaking.

"There's a sort of family feud in their clan," Shino said, "I'll explain in more detail later, but basically Neji hates Hinata."

"He can't do anything here, though, can he?" Michiko asked, this time not knowing the answer.

"...n-not physically," Hinata whispered, and crouched behind Shino.

But Neji had noticed his cousin.

"It's _you_," the older boy hissed, loping towards the cowering Hinata.

"Um, yes, sir, have we met?" Michiko asked cheerily, stepping beside Shino to get between the two relatives. She was rewarded with an icy stare, and felt her insides shinking.

_I wish _I_ had a stare like that,_ Michiko thought, _But it's also really, really scary._

"Step aside, newcomer, flea-user," Neji growled.

_They're beetles,_ Shino thought, then said, "Anything you needed, Neji-senpai?"

"I'd like to have a talk with my cousin," Neji answered, and put a hand out to shove Michiko to the side.

The hand went through the girl. Neji stared at his hand, which seemed to be inside where Michiko's heart should have been.

_What the...?_ both boys and Hinata thought.

Michiko smiled at Neji charmingly.

"Oh dear, my molecules seem to be floating loosely today. I'd better not move; I might disperse into a cloud. And we can't have that, now can we?"

Neji's lip curled as he removed his hand, and Michiko's smile vanished.

"If you won't move, I'll just go through-ugh!"

Neji had tried to step through Michiko, but now her body was hard. Hard as stone.

"Oh, would you look at that. My molecules are really close together now," Michiko observed, looking down at herself. She raised her head to smile at Neji again, "Isn't that interes-mmph!"

Neji had had enough talk; he punched Michiko's face which he guessed to be back to it's normal density. It was. Michiko didn't let herself stumble; she let herself fall backwards into a 'bridge', landing on her hands so that her body arched over Hinata. She shifted her weight to her left hand and checked her mouth with her right.

_My lips are puffing up...can't have that,_ she thought, and used a little bit of healing chakra on herself which no-one saw.

"That was mean," Michiko scolded, using one of Shino's arms togetback up from her 'bridge'.

"More main branch privileges," Neji growled.

"This is a marketplace, not an arena. Please go away without fighting us," Michiko said, making a dismissing wave with one hand.

Neji looked from Shino to Michiko, and then at Hinata, who had just gotten up. All three looked determined to at least defend themselves, now.

"What's your name, newcomer?" Neji asked her.

"Tell me _his_ and I'll tell you mine," Michiko said, jerking a thumb at Shino.

Neji honestly couldn't remember, and, biting his tongue he stalked away, he looked as if he'd tasted something bitter.

"...Vegetables, right?" Michiko asked, and without really waiting for an answer, she continued her walk to the stall.

Hinata and Shino shared a look, then followed.

"Michi-chan, how did you do that?"

And then there was some grocery shopping, and you probably don't want to read about that. So I'll skip ahead...

"How long have you two known each other?" Michiko asked, browsing through the junk food section, with two bags of groceries in each hand.

_Which one might Denise want?_ she thought.

"I grew up with Shino-kun," Hinata answered, checking her list again to make sure she hadn't missed anything, "We live right by each other."

"Oh," Michiko said, trying to decide between chocolate bars and taffy.

"How long have you and Deniizu known each other?" Shino asked, examining a few mints.

Michiko thought for a moment; her first thought had been one year, in their own world.

"About...six years," she answered, "I've always been our village's orphan; Deniizu's mother took her to the village when she was about six."

"You've _always_ been the village orphan?" Hinata asked, shocked, putting away her list.

"...During the war with a demon that attacked _this_ village," Michiko explained, still looking at the sweets, "My father came here to help fight while my mother was pregnant with me. He had the same bloodline limit as me, but he died here...and my mother died in childbirth about a month after. My village elder said that she wasn't very strong after my father's death...anyway, I became the village's orphan. It wasn't so bad; it was like having a lot of aunts and uncles," she ended, smiling a little.

Shino and Hinata just stared at her, and Michiko sighed.

"That sounds terrible," Hinata said, eyes wide.

"It was lonely at first, I'll admit; I was the only kid in the village. But when Denii-chan came, that helped. I don't remember my parents, but the village took good care of me, so it was ok. At least it was a small village, so I didn't feel too alone, and they all accepted me."

"...I just seems so sad," Hinata said softly, "I lost my mother when I was young, and everything was so different afterwards...like something was missing."

"...but I didn't _lose_ anyone. That's the difference," Michiko said quietly.

Shino didn't say anything, but he selected a few mints as Michiko took a few chocolate bars to the cashier. They both paid, and Michiko added a fifth bag to her load. Hinata shook her head, and gave Michiko a small grin.

"I have more things to buy, but you have twice as many bags," Hinata said, "How did that happen?"

"Oh...I eat a lot," Michiko grinned, and Hinata laughed.

"Well, I have to take these home," Hinata said, and nodded to them before she went her way, "And thank you for earlier, Michi-chan."

The other two waved to Hinata as she left (or in Shino's case, nodded), then Michiko looked around the market to get her bearings, and heading off in the direction of her house. She was surprised to see Shino still walking with her.

"You have absolutely nothing to do?" she asked him.

"Everyone needs a break every now and again," he answered, popping a mint into his mouth.

There was a bit of a silence as they walked along the road together. Finally, Shino spoke up.

"Here, I'll help you with those."

Shino took two of the heavier bags and carried them for Michiko.

"Oh...thank you," Michiko said, smiling, "That's kind of you."

_Why are you so different now?_ she thought.

"My mother used to tell me to always be a gentleman," Shino said, and Michiko could hear a smile in his voice, "Not like my father."

Michiko grinned, then she remembered a thought she had had earlier.

_What happened to her...?_

There was a long silence, the two of them walking slowly. The sun was going down; long shadows were forming on the ground, they both noticed. Michiko felt something inside her, trying to claw its way out. She fought with herself, trying to keep it down, but she had to know.

"Why?" Michiko finally asked.

Her voice had come out hoarse, and she cleared her throat. Both stopped walking.

"Why have you been so mean to me? You've been nothing but cold to me since I came here. Why are you so kind now?"

Michiko winced.

"Maybe that wasn't the most delicate way to put things," she said gently, then glared at the boy, "But nonetheless it's true. You're doing nothing but hurting me-"

Shino flinched, but Michiko didn't notice.

"-with you ignoring me, and now you're suddenly nice...what's with this? Answer me!"

Shino still wasn't answering. Michiko half sighed, half groaned, and turned to walk away, but Shino grabbed her arm before she could.

"Would you believe me if I told you?" Shino asked in a low voice.

"Depends," Michiko answered, trying to shake his hand off, but it acted as if it were glued there.

"Could you let go?"

"Only if you promise to stay in one place so I can explain."

Michiko hesitated, then put her bags down, faced Shino, and nodded sulkily. Shino let his hand drop and put his bags down.

"Iruka told me to," he blurted.

"..._that's_ your big explanation."

Michiko stared at the boy in front of her.

"You _look_ serious...but I can't really tell. Most of your face is blocked."

Shino rolled his eyes (not that Michiko could see) and unzipped the top part of his coat so that his face was fully visible.

"Happy now?" Shino raised an eyebrow.

"There's still the sunglasses, and you haven't fully explained, so no," Michiko answered, crossing her arms.

"You'll just have to accept the sunglasses," Shino said firmly.

"Your explanation, then?" Michiko raised one of her own eyebrows.

"Iruka-sensei came to my house to tell me that I would be your tutor," Shino sighed, "When he did, he said that the best way to get results from you is to get you angry or stressed."

"So, he told you to make my life hell so that I'd fight properly! What happens when I'm happy again? Will I suck royally?" Michiko growled.

"No, no," Shino waved his hands in front of him, "When you do something over and over in any state of mind, once the time comes when you have to do it in a different state of mind, if you practiced it enough, the technique will come to you naturally, without thinking. But first you have to actually do the technique."

"So, you decided that the best way for me to learn was to get me mad straight off, instead of checking to see if I'd do really well on my own?"

"Iruka-sensei said that he wanted you to develop as quickly as possible before the month is up. If you didn't get everything down before then, you'd have to spend a whole year with people younger than you that you didn't know."

"That still isn't fair though," Michiko scowled, crossing her arms.

"Would you rather I used it as a second resort, then?" Shino asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms, "Iruka-sensei's right in the respect that if you don't learn the techniques fast, you aren't going to pass."

"I can do it without being angry," Michiko said firmly, _Though I'll have to try really, really hard._

"Fine. I'll only try to get you angry if you don't get things the first time."

"Deal," Michiko said, and both shook hands.

_I guess you aren't so bad, _Michiko thought, as they went back to walking to her apartment, _Life suddenly seems so much easier.

* * *

_

A/N: Hey you. Yeah, you. Have you reviewed? Hm? Huh? Hm? If your answer is no, then click on that thing in the bottomleft-hand corner in the window, and write a review. If your answer is yes, then thank you very much! Have a good day, and eat Pocky. 


	6. Day Three: Finally it's evening

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, spicy ramen, a purple origami butterfly, or...YOUR MOM! ...not that she's mentioned in this fic...Happy Mother's Day, yosh!

* * *

"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Michiko said.

She and Shino were just in sight of her apartment. They'd talked about a variety of things, like how life was without parents ("My father's always on missions; he's rarely ever home."), their best friends ("Deniizu's great once you get to know her; it's never boring." "Hinata's actually my closest friend, and Kiba and I have this link since we're both animal-users."), and ramen ("It's ok so long as it isn't spicy. But after hearing Naruto go on about it for hours, some of the bloom is rubbed off." "Does he really go on for hours?" "...just don't mention it as a conversation topic around him."). Michiko had tried to wheedle out of him why he wore clothes that covered him so much, but that only made him zip up his collar again and shake his head. They had gotten to know each other better, and Michiko found that Shino really wasn't that unkind; he was just following orders.

_He'll be great as a shinobi, 'killing his heart' and all that,_ she thought wryly, pulling out her housekey from her pocket.

"We're working on ninjutsu tomorrow," Shino said, still holding the bags of groceries.

Just as Michiko was about to put the key into the lock, someone opened the door from within.

"Uh..." Michiko stared at the boy that had opened it in shock.

"Kiba?" Shino asked, also shocked and staring.

"Hi, guys," Kiba grinned, "I thought I heard someone coming. Deniizu invited me for dinner, so here I am."

"Um...hi!" Michiko recovered after a second, and put her key away before grabbing her bags again, "You're staying for plain old vegetable soup and bread?"

"I've had worse," Kiba answered, still grinning, "Sometimes I have to cook for myself."

"Yo, Shino, Michiko," Deniizu greeted, appearing at the doorway with Akamaru at her heels, "I hope you don't mind me inviting Kiba over."

"It's no problem," Michiko shook her head, and knelt to pat Akamaru, adding, "I take it you didn't find a job," while thinking, _I've only ever cooked for two. If I double it that means four..._

"Hey Shino, you want to stay too?" Deniizu asked, changing the subject and catching both of the bag-carriers thoughts.

_Oo, Shino's majorly crushing on Michiko, _she thought, silently laughing, _He was all but screaming 'invite me so I can stay by her side!'. Not that I'm telling Michiko...yet._

"If that's ok with the cook," Shino said, turning to Michiko.

"Uh...yeah. Sure! No problem!" Michiko immediately rushed to the kitchen and set to work.

Shino followed her slowly as Kiba shut the door behind him, and saw the girl rushing through the only used cupboard for a proper pot. Deliberately, Shino placed the grocery bags on the counter and calmly picked out the vegetables that they had bought, and put the canned/non-perishable things like instant ramen into the cupboards that the girls hadn't been using. Deniizu, Kiba and Akamaru watched from the doorway, snickering softly.

"She looks so tense," Kiba whispered, "It's like the whole 'mom' type of thing with feeding guests."

Akamaru whined and covered his eyes with his paws.

"I know what you mean," Deniizu grinned, "Shino's trying to calm her down by moving slowly, but it's not working."

As Shino opened the small fridge to put away the things that weren't vegetables that needed to be refridgerated, he shook his head.

"Michiko, calm down. It's not like Kiba and I are starving."

"Speak for yourself," Kiba muttered, patting a grumbling stomach, but Shino gave him a look, so he stood quietly.

"I'll help out," Deniizu offered, stepping forward, but Michiko jumped in her way.

"Nonononono," Michiko waved her hands in front of Deniizu's face, "I'm good; I don't need help."

"...I won't mess up _soup_," Deniizu rolled her eyes, but Michiko was adamant.

"That's what you said about toast," she reminded, and Deniizu went back to leaning on the doorway.

Shino finished putting away all the things Michiko didn't need, and stood with his hands in his pockets as usual.

"Need any help?" he asked.

"No, I'm good," she said again.

She had been watching the pot boil, but then got irritated and made her hands fire, and placed them beside the pot, helping the water's temperature rise faster. Cooking suddenly became a blur of flying chopped vegetables, flashing knives, and Michiko's fire.

"Um...I think we should step outside for a bit," Kiba sweatdropped, and the others followed him onto the balcony.

"She tense much?" Kiba asked Deniizu, leaning on the balcony rail.

"No, she just wants to be a proper hostess," Deniizu shrugged, "Don't worry, she'll calm down; just stay out of her way."

Akamaru sniffed around some pots that the prior owner of the apartment had left behind, and accidentally got trapped under one of them. He whined softly, but no-one on the balcony noticed.

"Wouldn't cooking food with her fire like that damage the pot?" Shino asked, glancing back at the kitchen.

"Oh, our village had a good blacksmith. He made sure the pot would survive it," Deniizu nodded.

There was a crash from the kitchen, and both the boys flinched while the dog yelped, still under his pot. Deniizu, however, was still serene.

"Don't worry. Give it half an hour until we eat, and it'll all be over. Do either of you have jobs?"

Half an hour later...(note: no people or dishes were harmed in the making of this dinner)

Dinner was a humble but comfortable affair; Deniizu set the table with the things she had newly bought, after speaking with the boys for a little while, and once Kiba freed Akamaru from under the flowerpot, Michiko came and called them in to eat. 'Plain, old vegetable soup' actually held some secret ingredients that Michiko wouldn't reveal, making it not-so-plain and rather new. Bread had butter or jam, so that wasn't too bad either, along with fruit juice that Michiko had bought. Michiko also set out a bit of bacon for Akamaru. Everyone sat on the floor in a square, since the girls didn't have any furniture, but that was all right.

"That was pretty good, Michiko," Kiba complimented, leaning back against the wall behind him.

"Thanks," the cook smiled appreciatively, sitting to Kiba's right and leaning on the wall behind her.

Shino nodded, after drinking his juice and Deniizu, who sat across from Kiba, grinned.

"Maybe it was better that I didn't help," she nodded, "So what do we do now?"

Akamaru wriggled around on his back, between Michiko and Kiba, and the dark-eyed girl rubbed the dog's stomach fondly.

"I don't know," Kiba thought, rubbing his chin, "The sun's gone down already."

"I think it's safe to call it a day," Michiko said, gathering the bowls and utensils and getting up.

Shino grabbed the cups before Deniizu could get to them, and followed Michiko into the kitchen with Akamaru. Deniizu and Kiba shared a look, then shrugged, both smiling, and got up as well. Deniizu showed Kiba to the door, and stopped there to wait for the dog.

"Thanks for inviting me over," Kiba said.

"No problem, come over any time," Deniizu said airily, "Unless of course I'm cooking. Then you shouldn't."

"I'll remember that," Kiba laughed, then called Akamaru, yelled a "Goodbye, Michiko!" towards the kitchen as the dog approached, and they were gone.

Deniizu glanced through the kitchen door, and decided that it would be best to wait a little before saying goodbye to Shino.

"Thanks for having me," Shino said in a low voice, facing Michiko as she leaned against the counter.

"Thanks for staying," Michiko smiled, looking up at him.

He'd unzipped his collar again during dinner, so she could see his smile. Just for her.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Michiko said, straightening and motioning towards the door.

Shino followed her out of the kitchen, to the still open doorway. Michiko stood where Deniizu had just been, moving aside to let Shino pass. He slipped something into her hand before zipping up his collar and putting his hands in his pockets.

"Good night," Shino whispered, and slipped off into the evening.

Michiko realized she was holding her breath, and forced herself to breathe normally again. Looking at the object he had passed her, she saw a tiny origami butterfly, in purple paper. Suddenly feeling giddy, she shut the door and twirled as she entered the main room. Denise was there, already unrolling the sleeping mats, and watched her dark friend as she carefully placed the origami butterfly on an empty shelf on the wall.

"Have a good day?" Michelle asked, grinning broadly at her friend as she grabbed her pyjamas.

"Pretty much," Denise answered, nodding thoughtfully, "You?"

"Whoo!" Michelle cheered in reply, twirling into the bathroom where she would get changed.

"Are you really that love-happy?" Denise yelled through the door, speedchanging in the main room.

"Hey, you're into Kiba _and_ Itachi, don't forget," Michelle called back, also speedchanging.

"...I hate to admit it, but there's no contest," Denise said after a moment, throwing her used clothes into a corner.

"...The Uchiha?"

"The Uchiha," Denise nodded.

"What'll you do if Kiba gets serious and actually asks you out, though?" Michelle asked, coming out of the washroom.

"Oh, he already has. He knows it's a casual relationship," Denise answered, giving her friend a thumbs-up. Michelle only rolled her eyes.

"Well, so long as he knows..." Michelle let her voice trail off, adding her used clothes to Denise's pile, "Hey, you want to do laundry tomorrow while I'm job-hunting?"

"Yeah, sure," Denise answered, lying down on her mat.

"Ok. Good night, Denise," Michelle yawned, crawling onto her own mat.

"Good night, Michelle."

* * *

A/N: ...I'm totally prepared for Mother's Day today. Completely. Most _definitely_...(shifty eyes)...So anyway, go review! 


	7. Day Four: Stranger at the South Gates

DISCLAMER: I do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, suppressed thoughts, 66 traps, or that one line in Shrek 2, "Fear me, if you dare. (hiss)". But that is one _fun_ line to say.

* * *

Michiko woke up with a gasp. Raising her hand to her forehead, she felt cold sweat.

_What a horrible dream,_ she thought, and glanced around her.

The sky outside was a dull grey; the sun hadn't quite come up yet. Looking around the room, which was tinged with bluish light, Michiko saw Deniizu's sleeping form on her mat. Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was about 5:40am.

_I'll wake her up after I've taken a shower,_ Michiko thought, stretching.

Wincing, she curled up again. Her leg had cramped up, and the muscle felt like it snapped.

_Charley horse...I'll try not to take that as an omen,_ Michiko thought, feeling dull as the sky as she gritted her teeth and waited for the pain to pass.

After a few minutes, her leg stopped complaining enough for her to get up, grab her towel and a change of clothes, and limp to the washroom. As she thought about her dream, she took a shower.

_The purple butterfly burning and turning away, feeling like falling...running and chasing, but failing...Akamaru howling...an open manga book about music, a feeling of gain...Deniizu running and chasing...and succeeding._

Michiko had read books about dream interpretation before, and that had gotten her into the habit of reviewing and analysing her dreams, especially the vivid ones like the one from last night.

_Cold eyes, but kind at the same time, on Deniizu...falling, losing...black glass, cold and hard, stopping me from rescuing the purple butterfly...a small crack in the glass...my hands slip away and the cracks mold together._

Closing her eyes under the shower, Michiko thought slowly about the dream, letting her subconscious mind also puzzle it out.

_The purple butterfly must mean me and Shino; it looked like the origami one he gave me, _Michiko thought, _...bad omen or fear? Same with cold black glass; it's Shino's sunglasses. Cracks stand for breaks...openings...or maybe handholds. Into Shino's heart. ...that scene yesterday was the break in Shino's barrier, he was opening up to me. But...not anymore? That could be my personal fear, or an omen. Falling is usually to represent losing control. Or just failing. Running and chasing is pursuit, or trying to obtain something...probably Shino again. Akamaru howling...that's easy. Kiba probably isn't happy about Deniizu's arrangement. An open book can mean opportunity, but why specifically manga on music? And the feeling of gain...maybe I get an opportunity? Maybe not just me; maybe Deniizu too. Deniizu pursues something, and gets it, but what? And cold, yet kind eyes on her? Eyes can mean many things, but usually it's other people. Who's looking at Deniizu?_

Michiko turned the tap off and wrapped the towel around herself, still thinking about the dream.

_Maybe I'm reading into it too much,_ Michiko thought, getting dressed in the washroom, _Or maybe not enough. I'll just keep my eyes open and see what happens. But about Shino..._

_Could you stop thinking about Shino and let me into the washroom?_ Deniizu asked irritably, _Dreams are only suppressed thoughts, anyway._

_Sometimes,_ Michiko said, unlocking the door, "But not always."

"Whatever," Deniizu waved the topic off, passing the older girl and entering the washroom, "The sun's rising, so Naruto will be coming in a couple hours to pick us up."

"Ok," Michiko said, and walked into the kitchen for breakfast, towelling her hair off.

A couple hours later...

Deniizu leaned on the wall beside her apartment door, waiting for Michiko to come out. Looking at the next door to the right, Deniizu wondered what Naruto was up to. The boy hadn't come out of his apartment yet.

"Ok, I'm ready," Michiko said, stepping out of the apartment with her bookbag.

As she locked their door, she glanced at Naruto's.

"Hey, where's Naruto?" Michiko asked.

"I don't know," Deniizu shrugged, "Maybe he didn't want to go early today. Should we walk ahead?"

"Wait a sec; I'll leave a note for him so he knows we're gone," Michiko answered.

Reaching into her bag, she fished out a small piece of paper and a pencil, and scribbled down her message. She folded it around the doorknob so that it looked as if it were twisted into place.

"That looks cool," Deniizu said, examining the paper, "Ok, let's go."

The girls walked down the road; it was a sunny, clear day. Not much seemed to be going on in the village that day. After a bit, Deniizu spotted Hinata and Shino a little ways off.

"Hey, Hinata! Shino!" Deniizu called.

Michiko had been staring down an alleyway they were passing by; now she looked where Deniizu was walking towards. The other two students waited for them to catch up before continuing on their way.

"Good morning, Deniizu, Michi-chan," Hinata greeted with a small smile.

"Morning," Michiko smiled back, and was relieved when Shino nodded his greeting.

_Didn't expect him to be nice anymore, huh? _Deniizu said in her head, _Told you dreams were only suppressed thoughts._

"What were you looking at back there?" Shino asked Michiko.

"Um...nothing," Michiko asked, suddenly interested in the strap of her bookbag.

"...It's bright today," Deniizu said conversationally.

"Iruka-sensei may let us have lessons outside," Hinata said hopefully.

Michiko's ears perked up; class outside would be nice. But that hope would soon be crushed.

"Hey, Denii-chan! Shino! Hinata!" "Arf, arf!" came two voices behind the small group.

"_I_ only get greeted by the dog?" Michiko asked, in a mock hurt voice.

"Saying I forgot your name wouldn't be the best idea, huh?" Kiba teased, catching up to the group.

Michiko rolled her eyes, and grinned as she picked up Akamaru.

"At least _you_ love me," Michiko murmured to the white dog, scratching him behind the ears.

"So, what's new?" Deniizu asked.

"You saw me just last night," Kiba shrugged, "So nothing."

"Do you think we will get lessons outside today, Kiba-kun?" Hinata asked.

"I hope. It's a great day," Kiba answered, waving to the clear skies.

But as I said, that hope would soon be crushed. Specifically now, as the five students walked through Konoha's main square.

"**Attention Konoha**," a loud voice boomed. The students turned and saw a man standing on a box in the middle of the square, "**I have grave news. The watchmen at the south gates of Konoha have reported possible sightings of a dangerous missing nin. Keep all young children close**-"

Here, Kiba and Michiko each took one of Shino's arms protectively, and both grinned as he shook them off; he was taller than both of them.

"-**and be on your guards. Spread the word that the infamous Uchiha Itachi may be near or even within Konoha. This is no joke; the Hokage has ordered for all shops and the school to be closed. Try not to leave your homes until the ANBU give the 'all clear'. Spread the word...**"

The rest was lost to the four of the students when Michiko finally was aware of something.

"Oh no," she whispered, and glanced around herself wildly.

"What?" asked Hinata, "Why...oh no..."

"Are you serious?" Kiba asked, also looking around wildly.

Akamaru jumped out of Michiko's arms and sniffed around the ground. Hinata and Kiba continued looking around the square, but Shino looked at a stricken Michiko.

"Has she?" Shino asked, and Michiko nodded seriously.

"Deniizu's gone to find Itachi," she answered.

"I didn't think she really would," Kiba said sadly.

"It's usually safe to take Deniizu at face value," Michiko said, and after checking the sun and getting her bearings, she started jogging in one direction.

"Where are you going?" Shino asked, catching her arm and stopping her.

"I have to find her," Michiko said, matter-of-factly, though her eyes shone fear, "In this whole village, I'm the only one who might be able to talk her into coming back. Sorry, Kiba."

"I know," Kiba said, hanging his head.

"W-what can we do?" Hinata asked, shaking, but wanting to help her new friends.

Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru stood by, waiting for Michiko's answer.

"Ok...Hinata, you go and tell Iruka-sensei. As his students, we're his responsibility, so he will probably want to know what's going on. Shino, you can go with her. Kiba, you and Akamaru can help me find Deniizu; she's probably headed towards the south gate since that's where they thought they saw the Uchiha."

"I'll search with you," Shino said suddenly, "Kiba and Akamaru can get Iruka's attention faster; they're better sprinters than I am."

"I want Kiba and Akamaru to search since they can watch each other's back," Michiko said patiently, "Deniizu knows who I am and how I stalk, so she's less likely to attack me by accident if I find her first."

"You're forgetting about the chance of Itachi attacking," Shino said, "That's flawed logic. You should have one of the best with you, so that your chance of survival is better."

_Shino, I don't have time for this...and I don't want you out there either,_ Michiko thought, but she nodded anyway.

"Fine. Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru...you all should hurry."

"Roger," Kiba said, taking off at a run with Akamaru in his wake.

"Hai..." Hinata looked at Michiko, who was already running south, and at Shino, who was waiting for Hinata to finish, "Shino...take care of her."

"I will," Shino nodded.

As she watched him run to catch up to Michiko, Hinata thought, _I know she won't take care of herself..._

Meanwhile, on the outside of Konoha...

_Itachi...my love, where are you?_ Deniizu thought.

She had made it out of the village gates and was now stalking through the trees, looking for her favourite missing nin. Not having any real leads, she didn't know where to start; looking around at the vast forest she was in, she realized that finding Itachi was _not_ going to be easy. Every now and again, she would see a flicker of a dark shape in the corner of her eye, but whenever she turned there was nobody there. Eventually she came to a small clearing, and while she was looking down for some sign that Itachi had been by, she noticed something glinting on the grass. Warily approaching the glinting object, she found a black shuriken with three points, just randomly stuck in the ground.

"If that's not a trap, Naruto hates ramen," Deniizu said out loud.

Selecting one of her own shuriken from her pouch, she carefully aimed at the star in the ground and threw it. It glanced off of one of the points, and a snare which had been hidden around the star flew up. Wondering if another trap was hidden by the three-pointed star, Deniizu threw another shuriken at it, and as she suspected, another snare revealed itself.

"Huh," Deniizu shrugged, throwing another star at the one in the ground.

This time nothing happened, so after a moment, Deniizu took a step towards the shuriken in the ground. And felt a rope under her foot.

"Uh-oh," Deniizu whispered.

The trap flew past her head, acting like a whip and making a cut on her cheek. Taking a step to the side, the girl set off a whole chain of traps.

"OH GAWD!"

Nooses, set shurikens and kunai, a few exploding tags...all these traps suddenly went off, one after the other. Deniizu dodged and deflected them for dear life. In the midst of small explosions and jumping tripwires, she was having the time of her life.

"Hahaha!" Deniizu laughed, deflecting 16 kunai that were coming from her left with one of her own, "I have never had so much fun! Whoever set this really knew what they were doing."

_This girl..._ a young man thought, watching the ninja student evade the 42nd trap, _She's incredible...and terrifying...almost like me at her age._

Yosh, Shino; Michiko...

"Stop."

Michiko obediently froze where she and Shino were. Both had just gotten into the forest outside of Konoha.

"Did you hear-" Michiko started, when Shino put a hand up, gesturing for silence.

Both twelve-year-olds strained their ears, and heard laughter to...

"Our left," Shino said, nodding. He raised an eyebrow at Michiko.

"Deniizu's laugh," she nodded, and both jumped into the trees and continued their search.

Fear Deniizu, if you dare...

"Aw...that's all? Just 65?"

Deniizu looked around the clearing, at the great amount of charred black ground from exploding tags littered with throwing weapons. She sensed a thought from behind her, _Wonderful..._ and spun around to see a tall figure in a black cloak with red clouds. The stranger stood at ease on the edge of the clearing, clapping slowly for a moment. Both regarded each other in silence for a minute when he finished applauding. Finally the cloaked stranger spoke.

"Good morning," he greeted.

"Good morning, Itachi-senpai," Deniizu greeted, with a small salute, holding her kunai to her heart and bowing her head a little.

"...senpai? I haven't heard that in a long while."

"Don't like it?" Deniizu raised an eyebrow, putting her kunai away.

"...I don't mind...excuse me, but I hate traps going to waste."

Itachi threw a kunai beside the three-pointed shuriken in the ground, severing a rope that the shuriken had been holding in place. This set off a trap that would have been triggered had the shuriken been picked up. At first nothing happened, but after a questioning look to Itachi, Deniizu heard a hissing noise from above her. A noose came down around her neck and tightened before Deniizu could dodge it. Michiko and Shino landed lightly on a treebranch at the edge of the clearing.

_Denii-chan!_ Michiko thought, but Shino held her back.

"He's a powerful missing-nin," he reminded her in a whisper.

"Ugh..." Deniizu groaned.

At first Deniizu struggled with the rope, and Itachi couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Suddenly the Uchiha saw a great surge of chakra in Deniizu's head, and the rope exploded into fine little fibres. He tried not to gape.

"Almost got me there," Deniizu smirked, lightly touching where the skin had been abraded.

Itachi stepped forward quickly, arms outstretched, and for a second all three ninja students thought he was going to throttle her. Michiko broke away from Shino and jumped down into the clearing, rushing forward and was about to turn her hands into fire when Shino caught up and grabbed her shoulders, stopping her again.

"Stupid child," Itachi murmured, applying healing salve on Deniizu neck. Michiko couldn't tell if he meant her or her friend.

"Um...thanks," Deniizu said when Itachi took his hands away. She was about to touch her skin when Itachi stopped her hand.

"It would be best if you let that be," the missing-nin advised, leaning close to her, "What was your name?"

"Deniizu," she said quietly, very conscious of how close his face was to hers.

"Deniizu..." he murmured, as if tasting the name and finding he liked it.

Both heard a noise to their left, opposite of where Shino and Michiko were, and Itachi kept a finger against Deniizu's chin so that she wouldn't turn her head.

"You can trust me, Deniizu," Itachi whispered.

His lips brushed her cheek as he turned to the noise, causing the girl to blush furiously.

_I don't know whether to laugh or collapse in terror,_ Michiko thought, shaking where she stood.

_What is going on?_ Shino thought, but outlining a plan mentally, in case they had to fight. Not to win; just to run and get away from the Uchiha.

Crashing noises were heard all around now. Michiko and Shino stood back to back in defensive mode, not knowing whether Itachi had company or not. Itachi stood behind Deniizu, holding her to him with his arms in an embrace, facing the trees, keeping his hands free to perform jutsus, and eyeing the surrounding forest warily. Ino, Sakura, and Sasuke appeared in front of Deniizu and Itachi. On the opposite side of the clearing, Kiba, Hinata, Akamaru and Iruka appeared by Shino and Michiko.

"Iruka-sensei!" Michiko gasped, sagging against Shino in relief, "I thought you would never-"

"Wait! Prove that you are truly who you appear to be first!" Iruka barked.

Michiko and Shino blinked; this was nothing like their sensei in school.

"Shino, what was your father's mission objective when your mother died?" Iruka asked.

"To obtain a special scroll," Shino answered.

"Correct. Michiko, what was the first ninja technique you have ever learned?"

_Easy. That would be the Art of Substitution,_ many of the students thought.

"Medical jutsu, how to heal a bruise," she answered.

"What!" Sakura exclaimed, shocked.

"It's true, Sakura-chan," Iruka said, nodding.

The other students except two stared at the dark girl; Shino and Sasuke looked pointedly at Itachi and Deniizu.

"Aniki," Sasuke growled, looking at his elder brother.

"Sasuke," Itachi sneered back, "How have you been?"

Sasuke didn't spare time for insults; he ran right at his older brother with kunai in each hand.

"Sasuke!" Iruka yelled, and ran to the other side of the clearing, catching Sasuke's shoulder and flipping him with one hand to the side.

"You didn't have to do that, Iruka-sensei," Deniizu said.

Iruka turned and saw something he had hoped never to see; one of his students in enemy clutches.

"It's ok, sensei, Itachi won't hurt me," Deniizu grinned.

"You can trust me in this respect," Itachi nodded, kissing the top of Deniizu's head.

"I'm afraid I can't trust a missing-nin at all," Iruka said, and began making hand seals.

Itachi rolled his eyes, and after forming a seal, both he and Deniizu disappeared with a puff of smoke. Michiko's jaw dropped, and Iruka froze in the middle of a hand seal, then collapsed onto his knees.

_Failure_, he thought to himself, _You have lost a student._

"There will be no class today; all of you get into pairs or small groups and go home," he said dejectedly.

Ino and Sakura ran off to check on their precious Sasuke-kun, and Kiba, Akamaru and Hinata joined Shino and Michiko.

"What just happened there?" Kiba asked.

"Michi-chan...are you all right?" Hinata asked, gently putting a hand on Michiko's shoulder.

The long-haired girl nodded, smiling weakly, then the smile disappeared and she shook her head.

"Deniizu, what have you gotten yourself into?" Michiko thought out loud, putting a hand over her mouth.

Shino turned around, facing her, and Akamaru whined, pawing at her feet. Michiko sighed and picked up the little dog.

"Let's try and cheer sensei up," Michiko suggested, and walked towards the still-kneeling figure. Shino put an arm around her shoulders and steered the girl away.

"Naruto would be the best to do that," he said, leading the small group back to the village.

"Naruto-kun and Iruka-sensei are much closer than you would believe," Hinata nodded, walking beside them.

"Where _is_ that baka, anyway?" Kiba wondered out loud, as they neared the edge of the forest.

Once the other students had left, Naruto, Chouji and Shikamaru stumbled into the clearing.

"Ne, where is everybody?" Naruto asked, looking around.

"It looks like there was a big fight and we missed it...how troublesome," Shikamaru noted, scuffing a toe against the black earth.

"Yeah, we came out here for nothing," Chouji said, taking out a bag of chips, "Hey...is that Iruka-sensei?"

"It is," Shikamaru said, "Ugh, so annoying. Naruto, you go take care of him, while Chouji and I go home."

"Fine, fine," Naruto said, and went to check on his sensei.

* * *

A/N: Yosh, reader! If you think Itachi is OOC here...well, I tried. And so is Shino (a little), and Kiba and Naruto (they're not loud enough), and Sakura's too...calm...and Hinata talks (I love Hinata, leave her alone!), and..._at least Akamaru is in character!_


	8. Day Four: Twist

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, or explosive nooses, nor do I know why the expression is 'cloud nine'. Why _is_ it called 'cloud nine'? What happened to clouds 1-8?

* * *

Deniizu was waved away smoke that surrounded her and Itachi with her hands. Once it cleared, she realized that they were in a clearing in another part of the woods around Konoha. Itachi removed his arms from around her and looked around warily.

"Um, where are we?" Deniizu asked in a quiet voice, reaching for a kunai.

"We're in the middle of my companion and I's camp. And I'd keep that put away, if I were you," Itachi said, looking at the girl's kunai pointedly.

Deniizu nodded, and Itachi took her hand.

_Oh my gawd, it's Itachi!_ Deniizu thought, and in her mind she was on cloud nine. On the outside, however, she kept her thoughts to herself.

After a moment, she realized that Itachi seemed to be leading her to the tents. Straight to the tents. The sleeping tents.

_Um...uh-oh..._Deniizu thought.

She turned bright red and was about to blurt something about it being too early in their relationship, and they should wait until they had been going out for a decent interval of time before going...you know...when she saw that Itachi was actually leading her between the two tents.

_Oh...okay..._Deniizu thought.

She glanced at Itachi in the corner of her eye, and saw a smirk.

_He suspects what I'm thinking..._

Grinning as they came to a cooking fire with a figure hunched by it, Deniizu squeezed Itachi's hand hard, hoping it hurt him a little.

"We have company, Kisame," Itachi said out loud, not giving Deniizu a clue that he'd even felt her hand.

_Kisame knows I'm here,_ Deniizu thought, catching the Mist missing-nin's thoughts, _I guess it's just common courtesy to say if someone's there._

"Deniizu, this is my companion, Kisame," Itachi introduced, gesturing as he spoke, "Kisame, this is-"

"A child. You have brought here a _child._"

Kisame rose smoothly and turned to the two people behind him. He glared at Deniizu, who was still smiling.

"And a stupidly grinning child, at that," Kisame added, wiping the smile from Deniizu's face, "Some of Orochimaru must be rubbing onto you, Itachi; you're beginning to drag in strays."

"Not all children are weak," Itachi protested before Deniizu could open her mouth to say anything, in a calm voice, "After all, you still consider me a child," he added with a wry smile, "This girl is out of the ordinary."

"Oh?" the shark-like nukenin raised an eyebrow, "In what way?"

Itachi paused for a moment, thinking, then turned to Deniizu, though his words were for Kisame.

"Perhaps she should show you."

Deniizu raised both eyebrows interestedly at Itachi, and turning her head back to Kisame, she saw him watching her; considering her. After another moment, Kisame nodded slowly. Itachi inclined his head to Kisame, and then led Deniizu off towards the edge of the camp.

"What's going on?" Deniizu whispered, trying to match her favourite missing-nin's strides.

"I want you to show Kisame how you dodge traps," Itachi answered, glancing behind and seeing his colleague following, "He'll see what I mean when I say you're out of the ordinary."

"What, you mean the laughing at traps?" Deniizu asked, as they neared the edge of the clearing.

"No," Itachi said, "That's common enough in the insane or stupid. No, I mean the way you hold yourself; the way you dodge traps. It's...different...natural, almost. Not to mention how you destroy some traps."

Deniizu thought for a second and realized he meant the exploding noose. Meeting his eyes, she found him looking at her questioningly, piercingly.

_I could die happy right here...but I won't because I'd rather live life with Itachi for a while._

"I'll explain to you later," she said, looking towards the trees.

They stood about two feet from the edge of the forest line. Kisame stood behind the two younger people, and nodded to Itachi.

"So. Prove yourself, girl," Kisame said coldly.

"All right, this clearing has-" Itachi started, but Deniizu cut in.

"Whatever," she said, waving the rest of his words away, "If there are traps, I wouldn't get a warning in real life."

Before Itachi could protest, Deniizu sprang forward, throwing a shuriken to her right. The star hit a tripwire, setting off one chain of traps. Her jump allowed her to touch a branch on a tree in front of her, and she pulled on another wire, setting off a second chain, and as she landed, the future ninja set off yet a third chain of traps.

"Suicidal is not entirely out of the ordinary," Kisame said to his partner, "Each chain contains at least fifty attacks."

"Just watch, Kisame," Itachi said, his eyes glued on the brown-haired girl.

Kisame did, and blinked. Deniizu looked right at home in the midst of fireballs, showers of needles, and falling logs. Jumping to avoid falling into pit traps, she laughed as if she were skipping down a street. Deflecting weapons with a kunai, she looked as if she were merely stretching.

"That _is_ unusual," Kisame said, nodding, "Reminiscent of Momochi Zabuza."

When Itachi did not answer, Kisame turned to his young companion. Had someone else seen the 17-year-old missing-nin, they would have thought he was merely staring into space. Kisame had been Itachi's companion for quite some time now; he knew what Itachi was thinking.

_She's bewitched him_, Kisame thought, almost stunned, _He's actually _worried_ about her. And proud of her. This is no common girl..._

"Who are you, girl?" Kisame said out loud, once the traps had stopped raining down.

Deniizu seemed a little disappointed as she looked around for anything else that might be flying towards her. Sighing, she walked back to the two missing-nins.

"My name is Deniizu of the Tea Village," she said, putting away a kunai, "Have I proven myself yet, or is evading 128 traps not enough?"

"...You have, Deniizu. You have," Kisame thought for a moment before continuing, "You have a talent that greatly interests us."

"Thank you," Deniizu said with a half-smile, "You don't need to worry about me telling the village about you. I'm good at keeping secrets like that."

"Good, good," Kisame nodded, smiling a little, "My companion, our...affiliation and I would very much like to keep track of your exploits as a ninja."

"I don't mind," Deniizu said, shrugging.

"You may be a very valuable asset to us one day," Kisame said, "What rank are you now?"

"None. I just started ninja school three days ago."

Kisame's smile faded from his lips.

"I spoke too soon. You are of no use to our group if you aren't even a ninja."

"But I _will_ be."

"Deniizu, think," Itachi said, speaking up, "The academy's exam is in less than a month. Are you saying you're that quick of a learner?"

"I am," Deniizu nodded stubbornly, crossing her arms, "Show me any basic jutsu or move and I'll do it right in the first try."

"...How many basics do you _know_, Deniizu of the Tea Village?" Kisame asked, "If I recall, you only used the Art of Substition. A one trick ninja, are you?"

_I haven't been concentrating..._Kisame kicked himself mentally, S_he has great potential, but still..._

"Like I said, I started school three days ago."

"Show her a small genjutsu," Kisame said to Itachi, "Let's see if she catches on as quickly as she says."

Deniizu saw something flickering in the corner of her eye, but, turning her head quickly, she saw nothing. Now the flicker was in the other side of her eyes...but again, nothing.

_How does this work?_ Deniizu thought, realizing that the flicker was the illusion, _It must be something about creating chakra disturbances around the eyes._

Concentrating, she tried it with Kisame, who turned his head to the left as she did so.

"Perfect," Itachi said softly, with a small quirk on his lips.

"That was truly her, Itachi?" Kisame asked, and the former nodded.

The Mist missing-nin, however, was not yet satisfied. He made Deniizu repeat the genjutsu several times, ordering her to change the colour or size of the blur to ensure that she had mastered it completely.

"Well, well," Kisame said, "You _will_ be a valuable asset."

Suddenly, both missing-nins stiffened.

"Itachi, take the girl. I'll gather the camp," Kisame said brusquely.

The man turned back to the tents and fire, while Itachi stepped to stand close in front of Deniizu. Making a seal with his hands, Deniizu and Itachi dissolved into the night.

I wish _I_ could dissolve...

Michiko leaned against the rail of her balcony, fishing bits of ramen out of a cup using her chopsticks. It was late in the afternoon, though the sun was still up.

_Denise, why did you skip tutors _and_ training? We're behind as it is._

The black-haired girl sighed, and went back into the aparment. She threw the disposable cup into a garbage bin, and washed the chopsticks before putting them into their drawer. Michiko dried her hands on a towel, then walked by the door and put her sandals on. Checking to make sure she had her key, she grabbed a large shoulder bag that was neaby, and opened the door. To her surprise, Shino was there, posed as if about to knock.

"Oh! Hi, Shino," Michiko smiled, "I was just leaving."

"I see," Shino said, putting his hands in his pockets, "Are you busy, then?"

"You can come with me, if you want," Michiko offered, stepping outside and locking the door behind her, "Um...do you mind taking care of dogs?"

"You're visiting Kiba?" Shino asked, walking beside her as she headed towards the building's stairs.

_She and Kiba are getting to be really close..._ he thought.

_If I didn't know better, I'd say that that question sounded hurt,_ Michiko thought.

"No...um..." Michiko fiddled with the bag's strap before continuing, "Earlier today, I saw a group of what looked like strays..." her voice trailed off; she looked embarrassed.

"Ah," Shino said.

_She's not visiting Kiba. It's ok, then. ...what's gotten into me?_

Shino looked over at the girl as they walked down the apartment's steps, and saw the look on her face.

"What are you so shy about?"

"Nothing really...it's just...I was always considered a little odd in my village because of this."

"I thought your village loved you."

"They did...but I was always taking care of some stray animal."

"There's nothing wrong with being a crazy dog lady."

Michiko looked over at Shino, shocked, then realized he was teasing and grinned, pushing him to the side.

"But as for creepy guys who always wear huge trenchcoats, well..."

Shino elbowed Michiko's side as they reached the street. Just gently, so it actually tickled. Michiko laughed softly, then looked around before heading towards the alleyway she had been interested in earlier.

_I don't see how these people thought he was creepy in the manga. He's actually really nice._

_She has such a protective personality...she was meant to take care of things...I like that._

Entering the alley, Michiko looked behind crates and barrels that were there.

"I don't know if they usually stay here; I only saw them today," Michiko explained.

"I'll help you," Shino said, and walked straight down the alleyway.

He came to a dead end, and saw a box that looked sort of like den to him. Kneeling down and looking inside, he saw four balls of fuzz that were shivering. The one closest to the opening whimpered, and fought to get to the back. Michiko heard the sound and began to kneel by Shino.

"I wouldn't do that," Shino said in a low voice, "There's dirt all over the ground."

"_You're _kneeling," Michiko said, also in a low voice and continuing to kneel, "Why shouldn't I?"

"For one thing, I'm wearing pants with knees. You, however, are wearing a skirt."

"Why are you looking at my legs?"

"Don't be foolish."

Michiko looked at Shino. The boy was looking back at her, and she thought the corners of his eyes were crinkled, as if-

"Are you smiling? I can't tell."

The boy shook his head (his eyes looking the same) and turned back to the puppies.

"Are you going to take care of these, or what?"

This time Michiko shook her head and put her bag on the ground beside her. She crouched forward so her face was at dog-level, and whispered to the pups in the box.

"Hey...it's ok...come on out...we won't hurt you...there's a good dog."

One of the puppies, a black dog, had crept out of the box slowly, and was sniffing Michiko's nose. She sniffed it back, then slowly brought her hands up front. She let the puppy sniff those, then gently petted it.

"I've got food for you and your family," Michiko whispered, reaching into her bag with one hand while still petting the puppy.

Eventually two others came out, and Michiko fed them bits of puppy food that she'd bought earlier. Shino watched silently, keeping an eye on the end of the alley.

"They're so skinny," Michiko said softly, "Look, Shino, you can see their bones."

"I see," Shino said.

Not all of his mind was on the girl beside him; something was nagging at him. A fly that buzzed by suddenly warned him of something coming.

"Michiko, I think something's going to be here very soon; something dangerous."

"What do you mean?" Michiko asked, putting the pups into her bag after coaxing the fourth one out of the box.

"I mean we should leave now. And what're you doing with those dogs?"

Shino got to his feet and faced the entrance of the alleyway.

"They don't have a mother anymore so I'm taking them home."

"So you speak dog now?" Shino asked in a low voice, helping the girl to her feet, "How do you know some angry female isn't going to come soon?"

"Oh, come on! They're all so thin. If they had a mother, she would have fed them. It can't be because of a shortage of food. Look at all the garbage in this alley; she would've been able to find them something," Michiko explained, carefully putting the bag on her shoulder, "And how do you know something's coming?"

"I...it's complicated," Shino said, taking her elbow and hurrying her towards the end of the alley.

"I'll probably be able to understand it," Michiko said, "Explain. And stop pulling, you're hurting me!"

Michiko jerked her arm, trying to get it out of Shino's grasp, but he held on tight. Moving like that shook the bag a little, and Michiko heard a muffled yelp. She tried to look inside it, but she needed another arm.

"Could you let go?" Michiko asked, pulling Shino to a stop.

"Listen. We have to get out of here."

"You're pulling my arm out of its socket, just let go!"

"As soon as we're back at your place, I will. Now come on!"

Shino started dragging her by the arm again, and Michiko followed sullenly.

"I don't see what the rush is."

"Trust me, something is coming."

"Correction, something has come."

Both Shino and Michiko stopped in their place. They recognized that voice. (A/N: And no, someone in a cape did _not_ appear, nor did lightning flash in the background.)

"Deniizu!"

Michiko turned around and hugged her friend.

"What's new?"

"Oh, nothing much," Deniizu waved the question off.

Both Michiko and Shino realized she was carrying a large bag, and someone was behind her.

"A big bag of Pocky. Hm," Michiko grinned after looking in the bag.

"A big bag of puppies. Hm," Deniizu grinned, looking into Michiko's bag.

"And Itachi. You must have had an eventful day," Michiko said, and added, waving to Itachi, "Hi, I'm Michiko."

Itachi merely stared at her, and not in a friendly manner.

"Right," Michiko looked down immediately.

Shino saw how Itachi's glare had affected Michiko, so he stepped behind her, and put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"And you have Shino. You were busy too," Deniizu said, and nodded to Shino, "Yo."

Shino didn't bother even glancing at her; he focused on Michiko.

"Ok..." Deniizu narrowed her eyes at him, "So Michiko. What did you do today?"

"Well, I learned a new technique; the Kage Bunshin. I'll show you how when we get home."

"I learned a minor genjutsu; it makes your opponent think they're seeing something in the corner of their eyes."

"Cool. You have to teach me that. I also got a job today."

"That's good. Where do you work?"

The girls usually went over their days with each other like this; though it seems like they're fighting, they're actually just really glad to see each other.

"Manga store. Oh, and I know why you didn't get the position there; you kept reading stuff and they don't like that."

"Right. Well, Itachi and I went around neighbouring villages...and we got Pocky."

"That's always good. By the way, I have two scrolls worth of information to show you on calculating the trajectory of shuriken, as well as the best ways to choose weapons."

"Homework. Great. Kakashi was stalking Itachi and me today, so I got a lot of evasion training."

"Speaking of which," Itachi suddenly spoke up, "Deniizu, I'm leaving now. I can sense that jounin nearby."

"Ok, I'll see you then," Deniizu said, turning around.

She didn't realize that Itachi had been standing quite close behind her. As she turned, Itachi reached out with one hand and gently touched her cheek. She froze, and their eyes met. After a moment (W_as that hesitation? _Michiko thought), Itachi leaned forward and kissed her other cheek. Deniizu felt heat going to her face, and then their eyes met again.

"I'm leaving too," Michiko said in a high voice, and spun around to speedwalk to the apartment.

Shino followed Michiko, avoiding looking at the embracing couple. They walked in a comfortable silence for a bit; both idly noted that the sun was going down. Shino escorted Michiko the whole way to her apartment, and waited with her while she looked for her housekey.

"Thanks for coming with me; you didn't have to," Michiko said, unlocking the door.

"I know. I wanted to," Shino said in a quiet voice.

Putting the bag down from her shoulder onto the floor, Michiko turned her head to look at Shino. His voice...she liked that tone of his. Smiling at him, she tried to make a dramatic entrance into her house, but doing so while not watching where she was going was not the best idea. She tripped in the doorway, but he caught her before she fell. He held her around her waist, and she had instinctively held his shoulders as she fell.

"Careful," Shino whispered.

He helped her stand properly, still supporting her by her waist, and their foreheads accidentally collided.

"Sorry," Shino murmered, spots of colour appearing on his cheeks.

"It's ok," Michiko laughed softly, rubbing her forehead.

They were quite close to each other; both thought about the other couple a few blocks away. They're eyes seemed locked on each other; neither seemed able to turn away. Without really thinking, Shino leaned forward.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Deniizu said in a too-loud voice.

Michiko looked up and Shino turned, then both pushed away from each other; the green-eyed girl was just coming up from the stairs. Knowing exactly what she was butting into, Deniizu decided she should take charge of things.

"Hey, Shino. Thanks for taking care of Michiko; I'm sure she appreciates it," Deniizu said, walking swiftly and pushing Michiko further into the apartment as she walked in herself, "Well, we've got homework, so we're busy now. Bye!"

Deniizu slammed the door in Shino's face; the noise caused the forgotten puppies in Michiko's bag to yelp.

"Oo, the puppies really don't like that bag," Deniizu said, throwing her bag of Pocky onto the counter and kneeling by Michiko's bag to look inside.

"I don't know whether to thank you, or kick you really, really hard," Michiko said, almost casually.

"I know, I know, that was a private moment," Deniizu said, as Michiko knelt beside her and moved the puppies into a cardboard box lined with a blanket, "But you wanted out. You were scared."

"Yeah," Michiko nodded sadly, scratching a grey puppy under the chin before putting it into the box, "It just...so...weird..."

Michiko moved the box of puppies into the room where she and Deniizu slept, and then walked onto the balcony as Deniizu followed. She leaned on the rail and sighed.

"You're still scared," Deniizu said, leaning on the rail beside her.

"I'm a careful person," Michiko said, chuckling bitterly.

"What, you believe everything your mother says from 'boys are wolves' to 'you're useless, get out of my way'?"

"Better safe than sorry," Michelle pointed out.

Denise tsked, "I say give Shino a chance. He isn't that bad, I don't think."

"I know...but..." Michelle took a deep breath and shook her head, "But I _will_ give him a chance. When we're both older. Speaking of older," Michelle leaned on the rail with one elbow, facing Denise, "You've been macking with a missing-nin."

"Oh fine, change the subject," Denise rolled her eyes, but she was grinning.

"So? How was it? Huh? Huh?" with each question, Michelle poked Denise in a ticklish spot on her stomach.

"Cut that out," Denise said, pushing Michelle's hand away, "...It was good."

"Oh? Oo, someone's got a badboy boyfriend," Michelle laughed, tickling Denise, "Was he really aggressive, or did he let you lead?"

"He led, but...gently. You know...we're taking it slow," Denise answered, laughing, and tickled Michelle.

"So it's official now?"

"No shit!"

Michelle teased Denise, and all the while they had a poking and tickling fight; the kind that two good friends have. Michelle, though, was much more ticklish that Denise; she lost her balance leaning backwards on the rail while laughing.

"Oh shoot, Denise!" Michelle yelled, toppling backwards.

She fell off, and Denise managed to catch her ankle with one hand.

"Whoa, Michelle!"

Michelle tried to start a Kage Bunshin to help her get back onto the balcony, but then Denise's foot slipped on the balcony floor.

"Oh, crap!"

Denise jumped foreward, grabbing at Michelle, who was free falling now. She misjudged how far to jump and found herself teetering on the edge of the banister, balanced on her stomach. Looking down, she saw Michiko falling head first; Deniizu knew that no-one could survive a drop from the fifth floor like that. Taking one more desperate snatch at her friend, she realized that now she was falling too.

"Try your telekinesis!" Michiko yelled, desperately trying to finish her Kage Bunshin.

"I'm trying!" Deniizu yelled back, and she was. But she couldn't concentrate properly.

Ten seconds...eleven...both girls closed their eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

Twelve seconds...thirteen...fourteen...one minute passed, then another.

_Why isn't anything happening? _both girls thought.

Deniizu opened one eye, then the other.

_No way..._she thought.

"Michelle, open your eyes," she said, reaching over to where her friend was and shaking her by the shoulder.

Michelle opened the eye closest to Denise first, then sat bolt upright with both eyes wide. She and Denise were in a tree. A tree in a greenhouse. A tree in a greenhouse with a stream of water flowing around its base in a circle.

Both girls stared around, then at each other for a second, then jumped down the tree as one and ran out the greenhouse's doors. Feeling their backpacks suddenly on their shoulders didn't surprise them as much as it might have earlier; the sight they faced before them was the bigger shock.

"We're back," Denise whispered.

* * *

A/N: Hah! Bet you thought they would die! Or stay in the world of Naruto forever! ...or you could see the portal thing a mile off...whatever, just post a review! 


	9. Tuesday and Saturday: Stuck

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, a drama club, or a gentleman Nazi.

* * *

Michelle and Denise sat side by side on the streetcar back to their home. As the buildings flashed by, the two friends tried to sort out what was going on. But first they were silent with their own thoughts.

"What time is it?" Michelle asked suddenly.

Denise turned from the window she was looking out of listlessly, to her friend.

"You're the one with the watch, not me."

Michelle looked down at her right wrist, not at all surprised that they were both back in their normal clothes.

"It's just past 3 o'clock," she said.

"So?" Denise raised her eyebrows.

_I had a boyfriend for all of ten minutes, _Denise thought bitterly, _And I like him. A lot._

"I remember that we first entered the world at about 11am."

Denise's expression didn't waver.

"Remember? I checked the time because we wanted to go back to the greenhouse later."

The green-eyed girl thought for a moment, then nodded.

"We've been out for four hours," Michelle said, gesturing to a newspaper that another streetcar passenger was reading.

Denise looked at the paper carefully, and saw that it was the same date as the day she and Michelle had first entered Konoha.

_Huh. It's still Monday, _Denise thought.

_I don't want to be here...I want out._

Denise flinched, then looked at Michelle. Her friend looked like she was thinking very hard, but after examining her eyes, Denise could see pain.

_I don't want to go home. My home is with that box of puppies and Hinata, and...Shino. Shino, what am I going to do now?_

Denise blinked, and realized what she was doing.

"Michelle," Denise whispered.

The brown-eyed girl sighed and turned to her friend.

"Yeah?"

"I have my bloodline limit."

Michelle stared at her for a second, then leaned towards her friend.

"What?"

"I'm picking up your thoughts. And look!"

Denise pointed at Michelle's backpack that she was keeping on her lap. The bag rose up a fraction of an inch, then floated back down. Michelle looked from the backpack to Denise, then raised her hand beside her side, where she and Denise could see it, but the other passengers couldn't. Concentrating, she tried to turn it into fire.

"...Nothing," Michelle muttered.

_She gets a link back to there and I don't. Great. ...No, I won't be jealous._

"You're lucky," Michelle said softly, smiling at her friend weakly.

"Don't feel bad," Denise said, patting Michelle's arm, "We'll come back tomorrow by eleven and find that greenhouse."

"I can't," Michelle said firmly.

Denise raised an eyebrow just as the streetcar stopped at the station they were getting off at. She followed Michelle to where the subway was as Michelle explained.

"There's no trip or anything tomorrow that I can hide behind," Michelle said.

The girls sat on a bench on the subway platform. As it wasn't rush hour yet, there was no-one else with them.

"We don't even know if it'll work," Michelle added, "How come we were the first on that tree?"

"True...fine, I'll go alone. I've done it before, I'll be fine," Denise said, seeing the look Michelle was giving her.

Denise half-expected an argument, but Michelle merely sighed again and nodded.

"Ok. Well, if it does work, you need to know how to do the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. You need these seals..."

Michelle demonstrated, completing each of the seals slowly so that Denise could mimic her. As she did the seals, she waited for Denise to form it as well, then moved on to the next one.

"...and then you activate it like this."

Michelle formed the last seal, wishing that it would work, and Denise did the same, with mutual thoughts. To their shock, a puff of smoke formed, and they came face to face with an exact replica of Michelle, who was staring right back at them.

"How...?" Michelle started.

"Did I just..." the clone began at the same time.

"How come mine didn't work?" Denise asked.

Both Michelle and clone stared at Denise, then the clone disappeared.

"I have no idea," Michelle answered.

She formed the seals again, but this time made the clone look like Denise. Denise formed the seals, but again, nothing happened.

"See, _now_ you can skip school," Denise said, gesturing to the clone before Michelle made it disappear.

"No," Michelle said, shaking her head, "Clones disappear if they get too far from their maker."

"Right, right," Denise nodded, remembering what Kakashi had said to his team when first fighting against Zabuza.

"I'll make a clone for you when you skip school," Michelle said.

Denise nodded her thanks, and again caught Michelle's thoughts.

_But why _these_ specific techniques?_

_Ok, when did you last use the bunshin technique? _Denise asked in Michelle's head.

_...We were falling down from our balcony, _Michelle answered, _I wanted to use clones as a ladder, like how Naruto did in the movie. Only...I freaked. I couldn't remember how to activate it. ...and you were using your bloodline limit while we were falling, too._

_So...when we fall off a balcony, we come back to our world? _Denise thought.

_Ok, no offence, but that sounds stupid,_ Michelle thought, and Denise poked her in the ribs.

_Hey, that's all I have to work with, _Denise thought.

_...Maybe we can't die in that world, _Michelle thought, _Maybe instead of dying, we come back here. We wouldn't have survived that fall._

The subway train screeched into the station, and the girls rose and got onto the train. Sitting beside each other, they each thought plans for the next day, to make sure that there was still a way back into Konoha.

The next day...

Michelle twiddled her pen in her fingers, not really listening to the other student who was reading out loud. French wasn't that hard of a course for her; she had already read the textbook's story ahead of the volunteer. Also, she wasn't at all interested in studying right now; Denise had left for Chinatown that morning, and Michelle was now wondering how her friend was. In the back of her head, Michelle could sense her clone, made to look like Denise, in a class on the other side of the school. Shifting in her seat, she tried to concentrate, but she still wanted to know if her friend was alright. Finally, the school bell rang; the day was over. Scribbling down the questions that she needed to finish for next class into her planner, Michelle slipped through the crowd and maneuvered to her locker. Denise, to her relief, was calmly waiting for her.

"Hey," Michelle said, smiling to her friend as she opened her locker.

"Yo," Denise said, nodding, "You walking by my house today?"

"Yeah," Michelle answered.

She stuffed a textbook into her backpack and grabbed her coat.

"Is it cold out?" she asked Denise.

"A little," Denise answered, "It's almost November; there's supposed to be snow in a couple days."

Denise's eyes turned from her friend, to something behind her. Following her eyes, Michelle turned and saw their other friend, Corey, approaching his own locker.

"Hey, Corey," Michelle said, pulling her coat on.

"Hey," Corey said, and he and Denise exchanged nods, "You skipped school _again_? I can understand yesterday, but you must have bought whatever you wanted already."

"Who says I went to Chinatown?" Denise asked, almost innocently.

"You just did, confirming what I thought," Corey answered.

The 16-year-old boy was in Michelle's grade; he lived near Denise. He was actually quite smart, but he wasn't an over-achiever; most of their friends weren't. Taller than both the girls by a few inches, and with unkempt, curly, shoulder-length dark brown hair, the stocky Irish boy could seem quite menacing. And he could be, when he wanted to. However, he was actually a gentleman if you were on his good side. A gentleman and a bit of a hypocritical advisor. For example, right now.

"You shouldn't skip school," Corey scolded.

Both the girls gave him knowing looks.

"I don't skip, I just don't come to school," Corey shrugged.

"Whatever," Denise waved him off, "Are you walking with us?"

"Can't, I have drama club stuff," Corey answered, shaking his head.

"I didn't know you acted," Denise said.

"I don't."

"Then what do you do?"

"Back-stage person," Michelle answered for him, "He helped out last year too."

"Why _aren't _you going?" Corey asked, "You were in the play last year."

"Yeah, but this year doesn't have an ensemble," Michelle answered, giving him a rueful look.

Corey waved as he walked off, and Denise turned to Michelle; the latter pulled her backpack on, and the two girls headed their own way.

(singing) Because of you, I don't stray to far from the sidewalk...(stops singing)

"I couldn't get in," Denise said, very seriously.

The two girls were walking down the street. Shivering from the cold, Michelle pulled her collar up so that half her face was covered...which reminded her of someone else.

"Couldn't get in like the greenhouse was locked," Michelle said, "Or as in-"

"There _was_ no greenhouse," Denise said, "I went exactly to where the alley would have been, and there was just this brick wall. Part of a store. There was nothing there."

Michelle put her hands in her sleeves, trying to keep calm.

_I know Denise doesn't get lost, so she can't have gone to the wrong place. There has to be a way back. There _has_ to be, _she thought.

"I also went back at 11 o'clock, the same time that we first got into Konoha," Denise continued, "That didn't work either. So now I think that maybe we have to both be there at the same time."

By now, Michelle and Denise had arrived at Denise's apartment. They stood by the doors for a moment; neither were in much of a rush to get home.

"How about on Saturday?" Michelle asked, "I need to go grocery shopping that day anyway; my cousin's sleeping over at my house for the long weekend."

"Ok," Denise nodded, and began walking towards to doors to her building.

"See you," Michelle waved, and she walked to her bus stop, heading home.

I promise that I will never mangle that song again...

That Saturday, Michelle met Denise at the latter's apartment building, and together they took the TTC to Chinatown. All the way there, they barely spoke; both were fervently hoping that this time they'd be able to get into Naruto's world.

"Here goes," Michelle said softly, as they stepped off of the streetcar.

She gave Denise a half-smile, who returned it, and then they walked straight for where the alley was supposed to be. But the greenhouse wasn't there; just a brick wall, like Denise had said.

"Maybe at 11 o'clock?" Michelle suggested weakly.

Denise nodded, a sad look crossing her face, quickly replaced by a determined one.

_We're going to get back, _Denise thought firmly into both of their minds.

But the alleyway still didn't appear. The girls hunted down the items on Michelle's shopping list, and went home, defeated. They had no other ideas.

* * *

A/N: Don't flame me! It's not my fault they don't know how to get back! ...(thinks)...ok, just review! 


	10. Day Four: Nighttime

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, LEAD, twins, leopards, or a travelling circus.

* * *

That next Monday was a professional activity day, meaning no school for many students city-wide. This included Michelle and Denise; the latter was visiting the former, while the former had had her cousin stay overnight after church. It was a fairly large crowd of girls, so Michelle's parents let them go around Toronto on their own. Michelle was the only one old enough to get a driving license, and since she hadn't gotten it yet, they all took the bus. Where? To Chinatown, of course.

Michelle's cousin, Pauline, was as interested in Japan as the other two girls, but in a different field. Michelle and Denise loved manga, anime, the food (mainly Michelle here; Denise didn't eat much), J-pop, and the culture and traditions. Pauline liked all of those too, but she simply _lived_ for J-pop; to be more specific, LEAD, and to be the most specific, a certain Shinya. And for most of the bus ride, he was all the pony-tailed Philippino would discuss.

"Shinya's 18, you know, and since I'm 15, I stand a pretty good chance at a relationship with him," Pauline was saying, as they all rode the final streetcar.

"Do you ever _stop_ talking-" Denise started.

"No," Michelle grinned.

"Hey!" Pauline exclaimed, swatting her cousin's arm.

Both the related girls laughed, and Denise couldn't help but smile.

"I meant to say, do you ever stop talking about Shinya?" Denise asked.

"No," Michelle said again, earning another hit from Pauline.

"I don't think I talk in my sleep," Pauline answered, and Denise groaned.

"_Please _change the subject," Denise made a begging motion towards Michelle.

"Ok...so Pauline, do you like Naruto?"

"Ok, now _that_ is a subject you wouldn't shut up about last night," Pauline said, pointing accusingly at the oldest, "You'd think you fell into that world and only came back here by accident."

The other two girls stared at the middle oldest for a moment, then Denise turned to Michelle.

"You _told_ her?"

"No! That was just an extremely lucky guess."

Denise crossed her arms and glared at Michelle. Then looked out the window and rang the bell for the streetcar to stop. Then glared at her again.

"I'm serious!" Michelle protested, putting her hands up placatingly.

"Tell me what?" Pauline asked.

The other two girls stared at the latter, and she clapped her hands over her mouth.

"No way. No. Michelle...but you never play pranks. No! Really! Omigosh you _have_ to show me! Are you two for real?"

"Oh boy," Michelle groaned, rubbing her forehead with one hand.

The streetcar came to a halt, and the three girls clambered off onto the street. Michelle and Denise led Pauline to a wall, pushed her back against it, and stood in front of her seriously.

"You can't tell _anybody_," Denise hissed, "We don't want our link to Narutoworld found out by the wrong people."

"I won't. I promise," Pauline said, nodding, "But are you two serious?"

"...Yes," Michelle said, after a deep breath, "We found a greenhouse that somehow took us to Konoha. But _don't tell anybody._"

"I _promise_, I won't. Can we go there now?"

Michelle looked at her cousin dully. She looked so hopeful.

_Little surprise, she loves Naruto,_ Michelle thought to herself.

_Time to burst her bubble, _Denise thought, not totally evilly.

"We don't know how to get back," Denise said.

"What?" Pauline exclaimed, disappointment filling her eyes.

"You were right," Michelle said tiredly, "We came back quite by accident."

"...you look so sad," Pauline said, looking at her cousin, "You met Shino, didn't you?"

Michelle rolled her eyes, but went walking down the street with her head down.

"She _did,_" Pauline said wonderingly, "And he likes her back, doesn't he?"

"Pauline, that's overdoing it," Denise said, annoyed.

"And _you_ met someone too, didn't you?"

"Can we go now?"

Denise walked down the street, following Michelle, and Pauline ran after her, pelting them with questions. Denise and Michelle took turns answering, as they went from store to store. Talking about it wasn't that hard for Michelle once they'd started.

"You don't know how to get back?"

"No. I just said that."

"When did you first get there?"

"Last week."

"How did you get there?"

"A greenhouse."

"What do you mean?"

"We went in while it was Toronto, we came out and it was Konoha."

"That's so _cool!_ ...What was it like?"

It went on like this for hours; the other two half-regretted coming early.

"Hey, can we get a late breakfast?" Michelle asked, rubbing her stomach, "I'm a little hungry."

"What's new?" Pauline grinned, and Denise rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"There's that bakery-kind of place," Denise said pointing across the street, then froze.

"What?" Michelle asked.

The oldest followed her gaze, and she froze as well.

"What is it?"

Pauline looked across the street as well, and didn't understand.

"I don't get it. A bakery...a random plastic bag...I didn't know littering affected both of you like this."

"No, no, it's not that," Michelle gasped, "It's...oh, _wow_..."

Denise walked across the street as if under a trance, and the other two girls followed.

"Please, please," Michelle whispered, then glanced at her watch.

The girl started laughing, and Denise finally snapped out of it and turned to her friend.

"What is it now?" Pauline asked, exasperated, and Denise raised an eyebrow.

"It's, hahaha, it's, hahaha!"

Michelle doubled over in laughter, then after a moment took a deep breath and explained.

"Ok, it's not that funny. But, Denise, why didn't we think of it? It's 11 o'clock!"

Pauline saw the dawning look on the youngest girl's face, and stomped a foot.

"Could someone please explain what's going on!"

"The last time we found the greenhouse, it was 11 o'clock on a Monday," Denise said slowly.

"...And today's Monday, and I'll assume it's 11...so where is it!" Pauline exclaimed.

"In _that_ alleyway," Michelle answered, pointing to it and grinning.

Pauline looked, and indeed there was an alleyway. She grabbed her friends' elbows and hauled them towards the alleyway.

"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!"

"Race you!" Denise yelled, and took off at a run.

Laughing again, Michelle chased after her, and Pauline puffed behind. In a matter of moments, the girls had turned the corner, entered the greenhouse and circled around the tree in the middle. Both the other girls heard Pauline say, "Michelle, look! My name's on there!", but instead of turning around, they ran full speed through the greenhouse doors.

"Our apartment!" Michiko yelled.

One second, they were running, the next, the girls found themselves on their balcony. Looking around and breathing deep, they saw that it was nighttime. On a hunch, Deniizu ran into the apartment, and looked into the box that was in the living room. Michiko followed behind her.

"The puppies haven't changed at all. It's like we haven't been gone," she said, surprised.

"Maybe time stops here while we're gone," Michiko suggested.

"Well, good, because I'd hate to have almost a week's worth of homework," Deniizu said, grinning.

"Ok then," Michiko said, petting a puppy that was still awake, "So it's still Thursday night."

Deniizu was still grinning as she looked around the room, but it quickly faded as she noticed something.

"...Michelle..."

"What?" Michiko looked up from the box of dogs.

"...Pauline isn't here."

Michiko blinked, then looked around. It was true; the girl wasn't there.

"Uh oh..."

Ha-ha, she's lost. I mean...(shifty eyes)

Michiko ran down the stairs, taking two steps at a time, and Deniizu closely followed behind.

"What happened to her!" Michiko panted, "She was right behind us!"

"She might have stopped in the greenhouse when we weren't looking," Deniizu suggested, breathing deep.

"But she still would have come into Konoha," Michiko insisted, "She would still have to go through the doors."

The girls ran to the side of the street by the apartment and looked from side to side.

"Where do we start?" Michiko moaned, "Konoha is huge."

Deniizu thought for a moment, then opened her mouth to suggest a place, but a group of voices to their left caught their attention.

"Pooriin! Where are you?" a woman's voice called.

"Kuso...did she get lost _again?_" a young man's voice said, "She's a burden to our clan!"

"Patience, my son. Be kind when speaking about your sister," a man's voice was heard.

"It's true, Dad, she never does anything right," the young man said again. Or rather, it was a voice very similar to the young man's.

"Pooriin! Pooriin, where are you?" the woman was still calling.

Michiko and Deniizu turned to each other."

"Yeah...I say we follow _them_," Deniizu said, nodding her head towards the group that was walking down the street.

Both she and Michiko practised their stalking techniques and followed the four shadows that were calling for their friend.

So where's Pauline?

Pauline sat curled up in front of the Hokage's building. She was wearing clothes that were exactly like Ino's, only pink, and she was wearing red capris underneath, instead of bandages. Even her hair was the same style, but a ponytail wasn't all that easy to make unique.

_Michelle...Denise...where are you guys?_ she was thinking, very, very frightened of what had just happened.

When the 15-year-old had seen her name on the tree, she had stopped in front of it and looked closer to make sure it was really hers. Sure enough, all of her four given names were carved into the tree, just as Michelle's and Denise's were. Pausing only to touch the circular stream around the tree, she hurried after her two friends...and found herself facing the Hokage's building.

_It's one thing talking about entering this world...another thing actually doing it. ...I'm in a clan...the Chatora clan...we're cat-users, but I have no talent...so my family hates me._

Pauline stood up, hearing many footsteps approaching. Turning, she saw the people who she recognized to be her mother, her father, and her elder brothers, the twins, along with their cat companions. Her parents had leopards as their companions; they weren't native to the Fire Country; the leopards had been rescued from a travelling circus. Her brothers had two cats each; small housecats, but still effective.

"Pooriin, how could you get lost again?" her mother murmured, hugging her daughter close when she reached her, "We moved here over a week ago; you should know the area by now."

"Stupid, stupid sister," the younger twin shook his head.

Goudon was the eldest of the twins, and had slightly more strength than his brother, Bikto. The twins were identical in every way, in appearance. However, in most ways they were quite different. In strength, Goudon was stronger, in intellect, Bikto had the quirkier, faster mind, and Bikto had differently coloured eyes (one hazel, the other green. Both of Goudon's eyes were hazel). Their personalities were not alike either. Pooriin was very, very different from the rest of her family, something that most of her family had been unable to accept. Three years younger than her brothers, Pooriin was dark; the rest of her family had fair skin and brown hair. Pooriin was short; her relatives were tall. She closely resembled one of her great, great grandparents, but most of her family shunned her. She had moved into Konoha to get away from her extended family, at great risk to her brothers and parents; the Inuzuka and Chatora clans had a great feud between them. One of her brothers resented this.

"Why can't you find a companion and stay in one place?" Bikto growled, "I hate having to look for you every night!"

"Bikto, that's enough," said their father, and the 15-year-old boy fell silent. Turning to his daughter, the clan elder's expression softened, "Come, darling, let's go home."

Goudon and Pooriin's eyes met, and the girl looked down.

_She didn't want to come home again,_ the hazel-eyed boy thought.

The oldest twin was quite close to his little sister; when their family learned that Pooriin had no skill with chakra, the tall boy taught her all the taijutsu techniques that he knew, and all the special tricks there were useful in hand-to-hand combat. The two siblings had a close friendship; one would not fight without the other. In Goudon's case, he had promised his sister he'd be careful with his strength. In Pooriin's case, Goudon was the only one who could give her the courage to defend herself. Not even her parents could do this; they loved her, but they alse coddled her; something that had kept a wall between them.

As Pooriin was led away with her parents' arms around her shoulders, Michiko and Deniizu came out of their hiding places. Michiko climbed out of a barrel, and Deniizu looked out from behind a tree.

"So...'Pooriin' has her own clan," Deniizu observed.

"...I guess we can look for her tomorrow after our lessons," Michiko said, after thinking for a moment.

"Ok," Deniizu nodded, "She looks like she's safe."

"Yeah," Michiko nodded.

_She'd better be...I promised her mom I'd take care of her, _Michiko thought, as she and Deniizu walked off to their apartment.

* * *

A/N: They got back! Yay! Let's throw a party! With Pocky! ...Is there such thing as Pocky cake? Because there should be. Now please review. 


	11. Day Five: Welcome back, girls

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, a pallet, any shuriken, a red tank top...(shocked gasp) or any packages of Mr. Noodles! I need to go to the store! I _need_ Mr. Noodles! AGH!

* * *

Michiko opened her eyes. She was lying down on her mat, and again, it was not quite sunrise. 

_Only in this world would I like to wake up,_ she thought wryly to herself.

She pulled herself up, fixed her sheets, and then fed the puppies before getting ready for school.

* * *

Deniizu woke up, but didn't open her eyes at first. Instead, she rolled over so that her face felt the cold, hard floor. That provided enough shock to get her up and out of bed. Looking over at Michiko's pallet, she saw that it was empty, and looking through the window, she saw that the sun had just risen. Hearing movement to the other side, Deniizu turned and saw the four puppies huddled around a plate that Michiko had set out for them. 

_That's cute,_ Deniizu thought, then gasped when something was dropped onto her face.

"Could you hurry up?" Michiko asked, mock exasperatedly, "We need to find out if there's school today, or if it's still cancelled because of yesterday.

The older girl was standing over her friend, after dropping a change of clothes onto her. Deniizu rolled her eyes but got up and dressed. Fastening on her necklace and bracelet from Kiba, Deniizu grabbed a box of chocolate Pocky, and they were on their way out the door.

"Ohayo, Deniizu! Michiko!"

The girls turned and saw Naruto leaving his apartment. Michiko smiled and waved, and Deniizu nodded before biting another stick of Pocky. The boy in orange grinned as he hurried to catch up to his friends.

"Ne, do you think there's school today?" Naruto asked, falling into step beside them.

"Maybe," Michiko shrugged, "If that dangerous missing-nin is still around, they might cancel it again."

_Oh my gosh, I missed you, Naruto, _Michiko thought.

"I actually hope there's school," Deniizu said, thinking, _He's about as annoying as I remember._

Michiko and Naruto stared at her, surprised. Deniizu merely glanced at them, then continued with what she was saying.

"Michiko and I are really behind. If there isn't any school, how can we catch up?" she explained.

"Right," Michiko said sacastically, snatching two sticks of Pocky from Deniizu's box.

"Of course that's what you meant," Naruto nodded, rolling his eyes as he took the stick that Michiko offered him.

Naruto squinted his eyes, looking down the street, and made out four shapes on the road.

"Hey, it's Hinata," Naruto exclaimed, running ahead, "And Shino, Kiba and Akamaru!"

"Hey! Over here!" Michiko called, waving one arm and using the other to grab a handful of Pocky.

Avoid a punch from Deniizu for continually stealing her Pocky, she ran to catch up to the other small group, and Deniizu had nothing left to do but follow.

"Ohayo," Shino said as the three students caught up.

The greeting was meant for all of them, but he was looking at Michiko.

"Hi," Michiko smiled, relieved that Shino was still talking to her.

_Shino...dear Shino...And Hinata-chan! And Kiba and Akamaru!_ Michiko laughed on the inside.

Hinata saw Naruto andended up looking down and playing with her fingers, mumbling a 'Good morning', and Kiba waved as Akamaru yipped his hello.

"There's school today," Kiba said, adjusting his hood, "Akamaru and I checked earlier today when we were on our morning walk. We saw Iruka-sensei in the academy getting the class ready. It looks like we're going to have a pop quiz."

"Oh no, are you serious?" Michiko groaned.

"Don't panic," Naruto advised, "Quizzes can smell fear. Enter the room calmly, and you might be able to fool it."

"Fool what? The paper?" Deniizu asked cynically, "I just hope Sakura and Ino taught us enough."

"Maybe it is an oral test?" Hinata asked softly.

"No, Iruka-sensei was checking over a large sheaf of papers," Kiba said, "It's definitely a written test."

Akamaru was walking between Kiba and Michiko; he sniffed Michiko's sandal and let out a yip.

"What did he say?" Michiko asked Kiba.

"...He's wondering who the new puppies at your house are," Kiba answered.

"When did you get puppies?" Naruto asked.

"They live right by you and you didn't notice?" Kiba asked incredulously.

"Michiko and I only found the dogs yesterday," Shino spoke up.

"How many?" Kiba asked, "And what breed?"

"I don't know," Michiko shrugged, "I found them in an alleyway."

"I'll ask my sister Hana to check on them, if you'd like," Kiba offered, "She's a vet."

"That'd be great," Michiko grinned.

"Yeah, those little puppies must be real dangerous," Naruto grumbled, "What's the big deal?"

"The dogs might be sick, which may be why there was no mother nearby," Deniizu answered, "And we should try to figure out what breed they are; they may be small now, but they may grow to be big and...well, yeah. Dangerous."

"Ano...what do you think the test is on?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"It's a pop quiz; you're not supposed to know what it's on," Deniizu said sarcastically.

Hinata looked down, embarrassed, and Deniizu regretted her words.

"Um, maybe it's about the history of Konoha," Deniizu said quickly, "We haven't discussed it in class for a while."

"M-maybe," Hinata nodded.

Michiko couldn't help but smile to herself; her friend wasn't all that bad, no matter what she said. Sighing softly, she felt like she was home. Shino saw her sigh, and raised an eyebrow at her, but Michiko waved it off; she was just glad to be back in Konoha.

* * *

"Good morning, class," Iruka said, standing at the front of the room. 

"Ohayo, sensei," the class said together.

"Today we will," Iruka began, but the entrance of two late students stopped him, "Oh, good morning, Shikamaru, Chouji. How nice of you two to join us. If you would take your seats, I'd like to begin our day with a pop quiz."

The whole class groaned out loud, minus Sasuke, who was too cool and angsty to complain about mere schoolwork, and Shino, who silently groaned on the inside. Shikamaru's "How troublesome," was audible above the other student's noise, and Naruto could be heard, already figeting in his seat.

"We will be doing a quiz review in calculating the trajectories of moving objects using basic Pythagorean Theorem, trigonometry, and characteristics of triangles and parallel lines," Iruka continued, "Um...before we begin, as everyone gets out a pencil and all necessary items for the quiz, I'd like Michiko and Deniizu to come to the front of the class."

The two named girls shared a glance, then rose and obediently walked to Iruka's desk.

"What is it, sensei?" Michiko asked, and Deniizu nodded from behind her.

"I know that you two are new," their teacher explained, "So I'll understand if you choose to not do the quiz today. You can make up for it later by writing it in a few days, once Ino and Sakura give you proper lessons and some practice."

"That's ok, sensei," Deniizu said, "Our instructor in the Tea Village taught us a lot of academics. We'll be fine."

"We'll write the quiz today," Michiko agreed.

"If you're sure," Iruka nodded slowly, "...Are you all right, Deniizu? Is there anything about the missing-nin incident yesterday that you wanted to talk about? I see he hasn't harmed you-"

"He said you could trust him 'in that respect'," Deniizu reminded, "Don't worry; I'm fine."

Iruka hesitated, still looking concerned for his newest students, then nodded and waved them back to their seats.

_I understand how _I_ know all this stuff,_ Michiko thought, as they walked back to their seats, _I learned all of this last year. But you can't have learned the math yet; you're two years younger than me._

_Not in this world, I'm not, _Deniizu thought back, _In this world, I'm older than you by months. Don't worry; my dad's a high school math teacher. He taught me this stuff already._

_Ok, then. No cheating with your telepathy._

_Duh. Of course I won't._

The two girls sat down, and in a moment, Iruka handed out the quiz.

* * *

"That was horrible!" Naruto exclaimed, "I didn't know how to do any of the problems!" 

"This is where studying comes in, baka," Deniizu scolded.

"Naruto doesn't know the meaning of the word," Kiba said, shaking his head.

"Oh yeah," said Deniizu.

"Hey..." Naruto protested, narrowing his eyes.

Deniizu, Michiko, Kiba, Akamaru and Naruto were in the Ichiraku Ramen stall, eating their lunch. Michiko and Kiba were slipping bits of noodle to Akamaru, who sat between their stools. Naruto elbowed Deniizu, who sat to his right, and glared at Kiba, who sat between Deniizu and Michiko.

"This math stuff just doesn't stick with me," Naruto said, "And Michiko, you handed in your paper first. And it was complete!"

"Yeah, how did you do that?" Kiba asked, slyly dropping a noodle for Akamaru.

"Takona was a good teacher to Deniizu and me," Michiko shrugged.

"So how come Deniizu was one of the last to hand in?" Naruto pointed out, earning a punch from Deniizu, "What? What!"

Michiko decided to not answer, and quickly ate her ramen.

"Hey, not so fast; you'll get sick," Kiba said, poking Michiko's arm.

"I don't want to be late for training," she explained, slowing down her noodle intake just a tad.

Deniizu rolled her eyes, "It's not like it's a _date_."

"Why would it be?" Naruto asked, confused, but Kiba took only a moment to understand.

"...Oh!" Kiba looked from Deniizu to Michiko, "Really? Do you?"

"Denii-chan..." Michiko glared at her friend.

"You do!" Kiba exclaimed, pointing at the girl, "...What's wrong with you? Ow!"

Michiko had hit him hard on the head with her chopsticks, and now she put her payment for her bowl on the table and slid out of her seat.

"What? What's going on?" Naruto asked, still confused.

"Hey, I was kidding," Kiba said placatingly, "Well...ok, not entirely. But- OW!"

This time Michiko threw her chopsticks at his forehead, and she stomped off.

"Good job, teme," Deniizu growled, hitting Kiba and Naruto on the backs of their heads before following her friend.

"Ow, what was that for?" Naruto exclamed, rubbing his head.

"You're so stupid," Deniizu called over her shoulder, and then she was gone.

Kiba looked at Akamaru, who was chewing on a doggy treat that Michiko had slipped to him.

"Why didn't _you_ do anything?" Kiba asked, but his companion only smiled at him.

"What is going on?" Naruto asked again, earning a kick from Kiba.

* * *

"You're not holding it right," Shino critisized, "Hold it like this," he said, demonstrating. 

That day, they were training their ranged attacks, and again, Michiko was doing poorly. The dark-skinned girl seemed to have forgotten everything that Shino had taught her, so now he had to go evil on her. Michiko adjusted her grip then let the shuriken fly again.

"Remember to follow through," Shino said, annoyed, "You didn't that time."

"Your grip is wrong again. Fix it."

"Are you even looking at the target? It's right there!"

"Don't hold it that way. You'll cut...there you go."

_This guy..._Michiko thought, cradling her cut palm, _I can't believe this guy..._

Michiko decided not to waste chakra just then. She calmly reached into the pouch on the back of her belt and pulled out a small bottle of antiseptic. Removing the cap with her teeth, she put a little on the cut, then recapped it and exchanged it for a small roll of bandages. Biting her lip against stinging pain coming from the cut, she carefully wrapped it, tied it off with her teeth, and replaced the roll. Shino stood there, not moving.

"You're a jerk, you know that?" Michiko said, still calm, to Shino.

"You're a poor aim, you know that?" Shino retorted, also calm.

Michiko seethed on the inside, but serenely took out another shuriken, this time with her left hand. Deniizu and Sasuke watched her and Shino from their side of the field.

"That may improve your aim," Shino taunted, "Throw with your wrong hand."

"Ok," Michiko said, oh, so calmly.

_She's going to snap soon_, Deniizu thought worriedly.

Michiko threw the shuriken gracefullly, almost carelessly, and it hit the target dead centre. She raised an eyebrow at Shino.

"A fluke," he said, then bit his tongue.

A second, third, fourth...a tenth shuriken hit the targets all around the field dead centre. Michiko barely turned for the one behind her. She then calmly retrieved her shuriken. Standing in the same spot as before, still facing Shino, she threw the stars with her right hand now, and still hit all ten of the targets in dead centre.

"I think that's called skill," Michiko said quietly. Too quietly.

_Shino had better not touch a nerve now, or he's dead,_ Deniizu thought.

"Try kunai," Shino said, still calmly.

"Ok," Michiko said gently, almost cooed, then reached into the pouch on her leg.

The kunai felt good in her hand; like it was meant to be there. Holding it was instinct to Michiko, and she repeated her feat with both hands.

"Is that how you do it, Shino-sensei?" Michiko asked sweetly.

_We're at the brink of disaster here..._Deniizu thought, then turned away.

"C'mon Sasuke, let's keep training. If there's any killing, I don't want to have to stand witness."

"..." Shino said nothing, he merely pulled out two shuriken.

"Now comes blocking," he said, and waited for Michiko to get ready.

The girl, now completely livid inside, took one kunai in each hand. Her right hand twinged, complaining, but she ignored the pain.

_Just a little longer,_ she thought, _Ugh, he treats me like I'm completely useless._

"I'm ready," she called to the boy in front of her.

At first Shino threw the shuriken slowly, letting Michiko get the feel of deflecting the stars, but that didn't take long. He then started whipping the stars as fast as he could, trying to find an opening. She didn't let him have one; she kept blocking, even sending a few back to him. At first he dodged them, then he caught them deftly and threw them back to her. Michiko saw, and she watched how he caught them, examining how he held them before adjusting his grip and returning them. Then she dropped her kunai and caught a shuriken in each hand, throwing them back to him. Shino was surprised; she caught on quick. They went on like this for a bit, then Shino decided to step things up a little, literally. He took a step forward, making the space between them closer. After a moment, adjusting to the timing difference, Michiko stepped forward. Another moment to adjust, and Shino took a step forward. A shorter pause, then Michiko got closer. Then Shino. Then Michiko. Soon they were just a couple paces away from each other, shuriken flying almost too quickly for them to catch and return. Deniizu and Sasuke stopped training and stared; between the two students was a grey blur; neither could see the shuriken. Both Michiko and Shino refused to back down; Michiko wanted to get back at Shino for taunting her, Shino wanted to make sure she would remember what she was doing when there was a real fight. Minutes ticked by; both were beginning to feel burning sensations in their arms from throwing so hard. Finally, both used the Art of Substitution at the same time to step out of the fight. The future ninjas ended up beside each other near the woods, and the stray shuriken flew in wild directions, eventually landing on the ground or in their wooden substitutes. Michiko and Shino were both out of breath, but the girl managed to crack a crooked smile and give him a 'peace' sign with two fingers.

"...Training's over," Shino panted, "Great job."

Michiko nodded, then collapsed in a heap, followed closely by Shino, who fell beside her. Sasuke decided he might as well dismiss his own student, and as he left the clearing, Deniizu walked over to her roomate and nudged her with her toe.

"Ok, get up," Deniizu said, "There's no way I'm carrying you home."

Shino wasn't too exhausted to grab Deniizu's ankle and trip her so that she was on the ground too.

* * *

"Ugh, I thought Sakura and Ino would never let us go," Michiko sighed, rubbing her temples, "My brain is full." 

"That was only the first 50 ninja sayings," Deniizu said, "I think there are over 200 of them."

"Great," Michiko grumbled, "Well, I've got to feed the puppies and go help out at the manga store now. What're _you_ doing?"

"I think I'll go job hunting again," Deniizu answered after a moment, "When do you get off work?"

"In about three hours," Michiko said, "Think you can meet me in front of the Hokage's building by then? I'm really worried about Pauline."

"Ok. I'll see you in three hours," Deniizu nodded, and the girls went their opposite ways.

* * *

Kiba and Akamaru were on their afternoon stroll with Shino. Walking through Konoha's dusty streets, all three were completely bored. 

"The same old sights, same old people," Kiba muttered, "Nothing changes here, does it?"

Akamaru growled his agreement, walking between the two boys, but Shino wasn't so sure.

"Perhaps constance is a good thing," Shino suggested, "Would you prefer chaos?"

"I never said that," Kiba defended, "It's just that there should be _some_ change."

Akamaru barked a vehement, "I hate it when it's boring like this!", and Shino got the basic idea of what the dog said, after seeing it attack a defenceless weed on someone's lawn.

_I know what you mean, Akamaru_, Shino thought.

The boys walked in silence for a moment, then Kiba spoke up.

"Ne, Shino...I know that you planned to come forward with Michiko yesterday, so...how did it go?"

Shino thought for a moment before answering.

"I...it didn't work out," Shino admitted, remembering the almost-kiss.

"Told you," Kiba smirked, and felt Shino's glare, "Hey, don't say I didn't warn you."

Shino nodded, "You get along well with her."

"I know; I like her," Kiba shrugged, "If I didn't know better, I'd say she was part of my clan."

_Will she one day become part of it? Does she interest you?_ Shino thought, but stayed silent.

Kiba had known Shino for a long time; he knew an inkling of what Shino was thinking.

"...Clan's shouldn't intermarry," Kiba said dryly, and Akamaru made a disgusted face.

"They shouldn't," Shino agreed, inwardly relieved.

_I still have a chance...It's a good thing Kiba isn't interested; he's more outgoing than me. ...I feel so stupid about last night..._

Thinking this led Shino to remember something else.

"Kiba...how are _you_ doing?"

The Inuzuka knew Shino meant Deniizu, and he shrugged, a little sadly. The bug-user had already told him about Itachi.

"Somehow I knew it wouldn't last," Kiba said, as they entered the marketplace, "It was foolish to rush into giving her that jewelry. It wouldn't have worked out anyway; Deniizu and I have only ninja school and Michiko in common. And she doesn't need a boyfriend...I want someone to protect, you know?"

Akamaru barked, and at first Shino thought it was for Kiba's encouragement. Then he saw that the dog was trying to show his companion something.

"What's he saying?" Shino asked.

"There's someone who needs help inside one of the shops," Kiba explained, already on his way to see what he could do.

Shino followed Kiba and Akamaru into a run-down general store. In Konoha, there were actually five general stores; one in each quadrant of town (north, south, east, west), and the fifth was very foolishly placed. Since the market had a very wide variety of stalls, this general store was rarely ever used, so the shop was close to bankrupt. Everyone expected it to close down any day, so the boys were surprised to find anyone other than the cantakerous old shopkeeper in it. Today, however, there were four customers, and the shopkeeper was nowhere to be seen. One was a stocky boy of about 15 years, with short, dark hair, wearing a black sweater and acid-washed blue jeans. There was a tall, teen boy wearing loose, grey pants and a loose dark blue t-shirt of about the same age, who seemed to be related to the first boy. A dirty-blonde, long-haired girl in a red tank-top and a short black skirt stood by the skinnier boy, hanging off of his arm, so she was probably his girlfriend. The couple was laughing, because Black Sweater had pushed a shorter-than-average brown girl in pink against a display rack for magasines. The girl looked like she was Kiba and Shino's age; she was crying silently as the boy kept shoving her backwards, roughly.

"Stupid girl," Red Tank-top laughed.

"Yeah, I can't believe she stopped _here_ for directions," T-shirt laughed, "Anyone with half a brain would go somewhere else."

"What, aren't you going to ask me again?" Sweater was taunting, pushing the girl after each question, "Don't you want to go home? Huh? What's wrong with you? Can't you say something, bitch?"

"Please, just let me go," the girl whispered, tears still flowing down her face, "I won't come back, I promise."

"Oh, but we have to take you home," Sweater said, "We wouldn't want you lost, now would we?"

Akamaru growled, and the people in the store turned and saw the three newcomers.

"Huh," T-shirt shrugged, "Just two kids come to join the party. And a mutt."

Kiba's eye twitched.

"He's not a mutt," Kiba began, but Tank-top cut in.

"Ok, then, a whelp. That better?" Tank-top asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Akamaru's a purebred-"

"Shut up, dick, we don't care," T-shirt snapped, glaring at Kiba.

"Hm...I like those sunglasses," Sweater said, looking at Shino.

The stocky boy left the girl in pink and strode towards the bug-user. Shino and Kiba glanced at each other, and that's when things started happening. The girl in pink crawled to one side, and curled up into a ball, out of the way and watching.

"I'll teach you the meaning of party!" Kiba growled, and jumped to punch T-shirt right in the face, "What's wrong with you, treating people like that!", he yelled, punching him again in the chest.

Akamaru sniffed the air and noticed something outside; he ran out the door barking.

"The hell-?" Sweater looked at his friend, "Whoa, cuz, are you all- ugh!"

Shino had punched the bigger boy right into the gut. As Sweater tried to grab a hold of him, the Aburame used the Body Flicker Technique to get behind and hit him hard on a pressure point on his neck.

"Simple," Shino said quietly, as Sweater fell to the ground, unconscious.

Kiba finished pummelling T-shirt and just let the boy fall down, senseless. Looking to the corner of the store, both boys saw Tank-top hold a kunai at the pink girl's neck.

"If you leave now, and forget everything you saw here, I won't slit her throat," Tank-top said coldly.

_Beat up my boyfriend? Say goodbye to this girl_, she thought angrily.

_I can't hit a girl,_ Kiba thought.

_What can I do?_ Shino thought, trying to create a plan that would ensure the pink girl's safety.

Suddenly, Akamaru came running in from the back of the store, barking his lungs out.

"Whoa!" Tank-top gave a start, "How did he get there?"

"Most stores have fire exits at the back, slut," a girl's voice said from a shelf behind Tank-top.

The 15-year-old turned around and was just in time to see a foot connect with her face. As the older girl fell, Deniizu dropped to the ground from her perch on the shelf.

"Hi," Deniizu said, helping the pink girl up.

_Don't recognize me! We've never met in this world, so don't screw it up!_ Deniizu thought to the girl vehemently.

"Um...um..." the girl stammered, "H-hi...um...thank you. Thank you all...I'm Pooriin..."

"Hi, I'm Deniizu," the other girl introduced, "And that's Shino, Kiba, and Kiba's dog Akamaru," she said, pointing to each one.

"Hey, Pooriin," Kiba said gently, "It's ok. C'mon, let's get out of here."

"Um...I...I don't know where to go..." Pooriin stammered.

"You can come over to my place," Deniizu offered, "We're really close."

The dog-user nodded, and, surprisingly, he put an arm around Pooriin's shoulders as he led her out of the store. Deniizu and Shino glanced at each other, sharing a look, as Akamaru walked at Pooriin's other side.

_This is a new development, _Shino thought, closing the general store door behind him.

_He got over me fast,_ Deniizu thought, as the group walked down the street.

* * *

A/N: Aw, ain't dat cute...yeah, I have nothing more to comment about. I really should get more Mr. Noodles...Anyway, please review! The story is almost over...then another 'Portal' will open. ...oo, I'm all mysterious... 


	12. Day Five: They'll be ok

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, or...you know what, I can't think of anything. I've already mentioned just about everything in the story that I don't own, which is almost all of the story anyway, so why continue on? Angst!

* * *

Michiko tapped her foot impatiently; Deniizu was late. They were supposed to meet up at the Hokage's building, but the younger girl was 15 minutes late.

"Where is she?" Michiko grumbled, glancing at her watch.

"Where is who?" a voice asked and Michiko saw Shino walking towards her.

He had his collar unzipped, and she could see he was smiling.

"Hi, Shino," she said, "I'm waiting for Deniizu; have you seen her?"

"She told me I'd find you here," Shino said, "She's at your apartment."

"Why? What happened?" Michiko asked, already walking home.

"Stay calm, it's nothing serious," said Shino, grabbing her elbow to slow her down.

When Michiko was walking casually beside him, he explained.

"Kiba, Akamaru, Deniizu and I helped a girl out of a problem, and when Deniizu found out that the girl was lost, she invited her to your place."

"Oh, poor girl...how old is she?"

"Twelve like us. But she's very timid, which makes her seem younger. Her name is Pooriin, by the way."

Michiko stumbled, and Shino steadied her with an arm around her shoulders.

"Are you all right?" Shino asked, with a concerned frown.

Michiko tried to smile reassuringly, but her eyes were different.

_How could I _not_ see that coming?_ she thought.

"Why so shocked?" asked Shino, "Do you know her?"

"N-no..." Michiko pushed away from Shino, realizing his arm was still around her, and resumed walking, "C'mon, I want to meet her."

* * *

Deniizu shared another stick of Pocky with Akamaru. They were both on the balcony with the four nameless puppies, waiting. Girl and dogs heard the door, and after about ten minutes, Shino and Michiko joined them.

"I see that you were ignored too," Deniizu said, proffering to them some banana Pocky.

"I already got a box," Michiko said, waving a box of chocolate Pocky.

Shino leaned on the rail beside Deniizu, while Michiko tended to the dogs.

"Kiba's certainly taken a liking to Pooriin," Shino observed.

Deniizu rolled her eyes.

"They can't take their eyes off each other," she said, "It's disgusting."

"It is," Shino agreed, and Michiko couldn't help but laugh. And found herself spitting out a black petal.

"Where did _that_ come from?" she exclaimed.

All three students heard a polite cough from the roof of the apartment; they all looked up and saw Itachi. Akamaru herded the other puppies into their box, and stood at the entrance protectively. The missing-nin jumped down lightly from his place, and landed on the rail beside Deniizu.

"Nice to see you again," he said in his low voice, handing a black rose to the girl, "Come with me for a couple hours?"

Deniizu looked from the 17-year-old, to the rose, to Michiko. The older girl was sitting by the dogs, which were behind Shino, and thought a moment before nodding to her friend.

"Sure," Deniizu said, and Itachi freed his hands from his long sleeves to make a seal.

"Don't be out too late," Michiko said, sounding a bit like a mother, "Itachi, take care of her; Deniizu, make sure he doesn't get caught."

Deniizu gave her a small salute, Itachi nodded once, and with a puff of smoke, they were gone. Michiko patted Akamaru and sighed a little. Shino turned and sat beside her.

"What's wrong?" Shino asked, taking a stick of Pocky from her.

"Nothing," Michiko said, biting into her own stick, "That was a happy sigh."

They sat in silence for a little bit, watching the dogs roll around on the balcony floor. Michiko leaned back and closed her eyes. She thought about her closest friend and her favourite cousin, both here with her in this parallel world. She thought about how each of them had someone special to spend time with, apart from each other. Deniizu had her favourite homicidal maniac, and Pooriin had someone who laughed at her corny jokes. And Michiko had Shino. With her small daydreams in mind, Michiko sighed again.

"I love it here..."

Ending of CHEESE!

In the living room, Pooriin was laughing with Kiba.

"No-one else gets that joke!" Kiba exclaimed, "Whenever I tell it to someone, they don't laugh."

"I _know_! Don't you just hate it when that happens?" Pooriin asked, putting her hands to the side, palms up, like she was shrugging.

As they joked and got to know each other, Pooriin felt so glad on the inside.

_I love it here...I belong.

* * *

_

Deniizu and Itachi walked through a forest outside of one of the neighbouring villages. Itachi had his arm linked with hers; they walked in step with each other, discussing what had just happened during their day in low voices.

"Kisame said that I could meet you at least twice a week, so long as it did not interfere with our missions," Itachi said quietly, "If I can't see you, I'll try to leave a note or something."

"That'd be great," Deniizu whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder, "If it's possible, I'll send something back."

"All right."

They walked through the evening, both enjoying the other's company.

_Everything's working out...I hope it lasts...maybe it will._

Hey...what happened to Kakashi?

That night, Kakashi sat quietly on the apartment roof. He watched as Shino and Michiko carried the puppies into the house. Using chakra to stick to the wall, he crawled down silently and looked through the balcony's glass door. The guests were leaving the house; Shino and Pooriin were already outside, and Kiba was following close behind, carrying Akamaru. Hurrying back up the wall and across the roof, the elite jounin watched as Shino and Pooriin walked one way, and Kiba and Akamaru in another as soon as they were at the bottom of the stairs.

"Enjoying the view?" a voice said behind him.

Kakashi turned and saw Itachi was there.

_He must have already taken Deniizu to the balcony, _Kakashi thought.

"What are you doing, Hatake?"

"I'm just making sure that the two girls are safe and sound," he said, with an easy smile, "How are you, Itachi?"

"Just fine."

There was a pause, then Itachi, convinced that Kakashi was doing no harm, prepared to leave.

"I suppose I can trust her with you," the missing nin said, ready to make a seal.

"That's supposed to be my line," Kakashi said, the smile gone.

Itachi merely made his seal and left. Kakashi blinked, scratching the back of his head, and looked around warily. Without a doubt, the Uchiha was really gone.

_Interesting, _Kakashi thought, getting up, _The dangerous nukenin is going to leave them be...Deniizu must be quite a girl. And Michiko...I have never seen someone with so much chakra, next to the demon from twelve years ago...These girls will do well. Very well._

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know it is the Ultimate Ending of Cheese.4 kilobytes just looked too short for an ending chapter, that's all. And yes, it's true; 'Portal: Arrival' is over. Let's all be sad for a little bit. (dramatic pause) But no worries, my dear reader; in a few months, type into the search engine 'Portal'. You'll see Deniizu, Pooriin and Michiko again, I promise you! 


	13. ALERT!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, or any characters affiliated. ...BUT I OWN _THESE_ CHARACTERS! AHAHAHAHA!

Michiko: It's up! It's up!

Deniizu: What's up?

Michiko: (looks up)

Deniizu: (punches Michiko) Baka! I meant...you know what I meant! (shakes fist)

Michiko: The sequel is up!

Deniizu: Seriously? Where?

Michiko: It's called "Portal: Transitions", so type that into the search engine, or you could look for a story with "Shino A." and "Itachi U." as the characters in it.

Pooriin: (walks in) Hey, have you noticed that we're the only ones with a story with those two characters as main ones?

Deniizu: Well, not really _main_ characters. Esperwen and Nuke barely ever show Itachi. (pout)

Michiko: (rolls eyes)

Pooriin: Whatever.

(Pooriin and Michiko walk away, leaving Deniizu there.)

Deniizu: (looks around) Oh, _thanks_ guys! (runs after Pooriin and Michiko)


End file.
